


Hoarding Love

by Hyrulehalfbreed



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dark, Dragon Hunters, Dragon shifters, Dragons, Elves, Eren Is a Little Shit, Eren is ancient and bitter, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Fluff and Angst, Humor, M/M, Monsters, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Predator/Prey, Prey - Freeform, Thug Levi, predator - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2018-11-05 03:12:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 28,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11004753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyrulehalfbreed/pseuds/Hyrulehalfbreed
Summary: Humanity lives in relative comfort despite the attacks from the occasional monster or beast that hungers for flesh and rich blood. In retrospect, humans didn't have it too bad, but poverty and hunger are still bitches to combat. But at least they 'usually' didn't have to worry about being roasted alive.Huh? You want to know more about that last part?You know those big ass flying lizards that rule the skies, dragons? Yeah, they're a thing. However, as long as one didn't enter their territory, you shouldn't end up on the menu or flambeed. Too bad for Levi, it was either run into scaly territory or be executed as a thief.Well, out of the pan and into the fire as they say as he finds himself in the claws of a dragon deemed 'Rogue'. However his captor... is far more different than what he expects as the beast decides to add the strange human to his collection of riches, whether he likes it or not.Can Levi escape or will he be bewitched by eyes like gemstones?





	1. Out of the Pan

The sound of hooves pounding across the earth, the huffs of the horses’ breaths as they were pushed to their limits, and the curses of the soldiers that rode them were a constant drone in the fleeing man’s ears. He shouldn’t have pushed his luck today, after all, he had woken up with a bad feeling. Guess this was what he got for not trusting his instincts. They hadn’t steered him wrong before, but the temptation had been too great. 

Living in poverty and constant hunger made one greedy unfortunately and now the raven was paying the price. Honestly, Levi should have known that an unprotected cart outside of a produce stall was a setup. However, when you didn’t know when your next meal would come, one had to take risks.

Levi had been aware that the military was searching for him and his crew more vigorously than usual. The fat merchants’ complaints and jingling purses had finally got the soldiers off their lazy asses. It had never been difficult for Levi to outmaneuver the foot soldiers, but these pursuers were elites. Their use of 3D maneuver gear had forced Levi to change his path many times to avoid capture. 

The only saving grace that had been granted to him was the fact that he had decided to work alone today. Meaning no one else in his crew would be taking the fall with him. While Furlan and Isabel were highly skilled in the use of their stolen gear, Levi knew that if they were with him, they’d most likely would have been caught by now. 

The mid-twenty-something year old Levi’s use of the gear was impeccable. No one could argue that and he knew the streets of the city like they were ingrained into his mind like the scars across his body. However, the soldiers seemed to have been preparing for this hunt for a long time. Blocking him at every turn, he realized quickly that they were trying to bottleneck him into an open space that would provide little in means of stable foundations were Levi could anchor his hooks. 

He had had no other choice but to make a risky decision. There was little doubt in Levi’s mind that the open square had a waiting squadron of men with guns ready to shoot him out of the sky if he entered it. Swinging his hip to the right, Levi felt himself starting to spin in the air until he was facing the way that he had come. A click of his fingers on the triggers had the cables firing into the roof of a house, crossing wires with a soldier as a result. 

With a jerk Levi was pulled forward, it would be a game of chicken. One of them would have to release their anchors or risk colliding at a high speed. Levi’s glare was deadly as he locked eyes with the young solider. While the dark-haired thief only had a knife, it was just as deadly as the military’s guns and swords, he was banking on the other to panic instead of trying to call Levi’s bluff. 

The risk paid off as Levi watched the soldier’s eyes widen as he realized that Levi wasn’t going to change directions. Retracting his gear just in time to avoid colliding and shooting off onto the closest building. Not that Levi cared and he landed lightly on his feet on the roof. Taking off at a run as he knew his pursuers would be back on his ass in a few moments. They were like stubborn fleas, always coming back no matter how Levi tried to shake them off. 

Skidding on top of tiled rooftops and jumping off crumbling brick Levi knew that his gas supply was running low, which was one of the intentions of the military with this prolonged chase. If one soldier ran out of gas, two more would come take his place. It wasn’t exactly a fair fucking fight. Then again, Levi was a criminal it wasn’t like he learned to play by the rules either. 

To survive, you had to play dirty. Morals were just extra baggage that would slow you down, that’s what had been beat into Levi by his ass of an uncle early in life. 

Staying in the city wasn’t working and he had steadily been pushed towards the edge of civilization when the soldiers realized that Levi wasn’t going to let himself be pushed towards any open place. Levi couldn’t hide either with all the onlookers screaming directions to the soldiers as Levi soared over their heads. Even if they had no personal grief with the thief, the idea of getting a reward for helping in his capture was too great to ignore. If he had been in their shoes, Levi probably would have done the same. 

But now on the very outskirts of town it was easier for more soldiers to converge on him. Dodging under bullets, Levi cursed to himself. What fucking quota did these dickheads miss to make them so desperate to fill it with his corpse?! 

Escaping into the wilds might be Levi’s only option as the rest were rapidly dwindling away. He could bide his time, wait until the heat came off and then sneak back into the city and to his comrades. While he was gone, he had no doubt that Furlan and Isabel would be able to take care of themselves. If not, they could always go to Kenny. He was an asshole, but he’d come to owe Levi more than a few favors over the years. 

This plan didn’t come without its own hazards, but what were the chances that a dragon would notice a single human in its huge territory? Those big ass flying lizards that ruled the skies, he’d seen their dark silhouettes many times and heard countless tales of them growing up. Yeah, they were certainly a thing, as five of the monsters claimed the mountain range just to the south of the city. 

However, as long as one didn't enter their territory, you didn’t typically have to worry about ending up on the menu or your ass flambéed. The creatures were greedy and possessive, but it worked in humanity’s favor since it meant that the scaly monsters rarely left their domain. 

The three-dimensional gear had been created by humanity as a precaution against all the monsters that existed outside of the scattered villages and cities. Werewolves, vampires, and many others, they were all very real and a threat, even on good days. However, most creatures seemed content to leave humans that lived in cities alone once they realized the deadliness of the weapons they’d developed to defend against them. That didn’t mean however, that a rouge slobbering beast didn’t rear its ugly head from time to time. That was neither here, nor there though.

Levi needed to focus on saving himself before wondering too deeply about the isolated bubbles that humanity had found themselves occupying. He had no intention of meeting the gallows today nor any other day. He quickly released his hooks from the last building, rolling onto his feet as he landed on the dirt and grass. Fuck, the stains were going to be a bitch to get out later. 

Now it would be a race to reach the forest before the soldiers caught up with him. The men on horseback would be delayed for they wouldn’t be able to fit past the buildings in the immediate area to give chase. But the ones using only their gear, they’d be following right at his heels after they got over their confusion about his current course. 

“He’s heading for Rogue’s forest!” Came the scream of one of the soldiers, sounds of disbelief quickly spreading through the ranks along with boots hitting earth.

The edge of the forest was a good twenty or so meters away, but long as Levi got close enough to hook into the trees then he could shave some of the time off to cross it. The shouts of the men were becoming angrier and more panicked as their prey got closer to freedom. Just as there was a brush of a hand against the collar of his shirt, Levi pressed the triggers once more. 

However, as he started to catapult towards the foliage, it appeared that Levi miscalculated the amount of weight a tree limb could take as it snapped off when he was just two meters away from his target. His body continued to sail forward, but without a stable anchor, his balance was lost. It sent him ass over heels into the brush until he landed on his side painfully with a short groan a couple of meters away from the treeline. 

While it was hardly a graceful escape, it got the job done as he heard the annoyed shouting just on the other side of the tree line. 

“Levi! You son of a bitch!” 

The harsh shout came from a familiar voice that made the man in question roll his eyes. Nile Dawk, head of the military and number one pain in Levi’s ass. For him to have been part of the chase, they really were banking on this to be the end of the famous thief. He was oh so sorry to disappoint both him and his weak goatee. Honestly, Furlan could probably pull the look off better than the disgruntled commander. 

“I never pegged you to be a coward.” Nile added, his voice heard over the anxious stamping of hooves as the horses, no doubt, were none too happy to be close to the forest that housed a giant predator along with a multitude of others. 

“Little bitch is hiding like a rat!” This jeer came from a new voice and Levi huffed softly through his nose as his surroundings continued to come into focus as he recovered from his rough landing. Everything was lush and green, sunlight speckling the ground with light as it pierced through the thick leaves that made a canopy over Levi’s head. The chirps of song birds filled the air to combat the harsh, angry sounds that often accompanied humans. 

They were trying to bait Levi out of the trees, other soldiers quickly joining the call to hurdle insult after insult at the hidden fugitive. However, not one man dared to set foot inside of the forest to give chase. Unlike Levi, who had nothing to lose, they did. If the men pissed off the ruler of the forest and it made a connection between them and the city, it might fancy lighting the whole place up. Dragons were rumored to be frighteningly intelligent and there was no doubt that Rogue had been around since the founding of the city according to the historical texts and tapestries that decorated the town hall. 

Levi blinked, shifting his arms and legs to make sure nothing was broken. He was bruised, definitely. His lower back was probably a horrible mess of black and blue from the back-piece of his gear striking his flesh in his landing. So far, it seemed like nothing new compared to what Levi had suffered in the past. Hearing another jeer Levi just desperately wanted to wipe that smug expression off Nile’s face, hearing it in the bastard’s voice despite not being able to see his face. 

Even at the cost of tempting fate, Levi was going to rub failure into that pompous skunk’s nose. 

Slowly, Levi pushed himself into a crouching position, waiting for any sound of guns positioning or 3D gear whirling. When it didn’t come, he stood up fully, muscles still tense and ready to move to prevent himself from obtaining new holes in his chest. A gasp from one of the men had all eyes turning to look towards Levi, but as guns turned on the thief Nile raised a hand to stay them. 

“I hope you are happy with the bed you made, Levi,” The man was snarling, obviously infuriated by this whole fiasco. Levi’s expression, on the other hand, remained unimpressed, arms crossing casually over his chest. 

Levi’s guess had been right, he was safe here from the hands of man. He couldn’t help the small smirk that came to his lips. 

“You’re still going to pay for your crimes, one way or another.” Nile’s tone rose as his cheeks flushed with how smug Levi was acting. He had been hunting the shorter man for years and while Levi seemed completely disinterested to the rest of the soldiers, to Nile his expression screamed delight at the military’s misery. 

“You will never be allowed to return to the city alive. I’m going to position guards at the edge of the forest for however long it takes to make sure you’re dead. You take one step out of those woods and I swear-“

“I get the fucking picture, why don’t you run along now and go back to kissing the asshole of the king already. Maybe that will help grow more hair on your lip. Looks like it could use some darkening.” Levi rolled his eyes, if he didn’t cut the other off now, he’d probably be stuck listening to Nile until the sunset. If Levi was going to survive his first night out in the wild, he needed to start preparing before the bitter cold came with the rise of the moon. Securing himself food and water would also be needed. 

Wasting his time on Nile’s spittle wasn’t on his new to-do list. 

“Why you,” Nile hissed before giving a jerk to the reins in his hands, turning the horse away from the forest. The commander raised a hand to summon his men to him, shouting out the orders to make sure that Levi heard them. “If you have a clear shot away from the trees, take it. His corpse is worth its weight in gold for everything he’s stolen.”

Well, Levi just couldn’t let Nile get the last word. A short whistle from the raven had the man turning his head back with a scowl. Only to be greeted by the sight of Levi giving Nile the finger before turning on his heel and strutting into the forest. The sputters of disbelief and rage tempered the feelings of uncertainty that were trying to worm their way into Levi. He was a thief, yes. A damn good one at that to have gained such a bounty on his head. However, most of the shit Levi and gang had stolen was food or pretty things that they could trade for it. It wasn’t his fault that being born in poverty bred into him the tenacity of a cockroach. 

His steps stopped as he pinched the bridge of his nose as he realized that he had just compared himself to a disgusting roach. With Levi’s shitty day, maybe his sanity was also starting to fade into oblivion like his luck. 

Sighing, Levi forced his feet to move forward once more, ears listening for any kind of disturbance around him. One thing he quickly realized was that the forest was fucking loud. Not in the same way that the city. That place was always busy with merchants calling out their wears, children laughing, housewives gossiping, the sick coughing, beggars whimpering on cobblestone corners, and drunks bumbling about. 

The forest was noisy in its own way. The chirps of song birds, the barks of foxes, fruits or seeds falling from tree limbs to the forest floor, snorts of animals just out of sight, and leaves rattling in the wind. Levi was light on his feet, being used to sneaking around to avoid having his head land on the chopping block. However, each step he now took sounded like the pop of a gun ringing in his ears. Dry leaves and twigs cracked with any move he made and his unfamiliar presence would startle some animal into fleeing from time to time. 

Whenever a particularly loud sound reached his ears his muscles would twitch, ready to fling Levi’s body whatever way necessary to avoid some form of grisly death. Humanity only had a blurry idea of what called the forests home. He heard that the last person to willingly enter this particular forest was decades ago. Levi remembered the end of the story being that the man was never heard from again. 

Well that was fucking comforting. 

There might not be the leathery snap of wings over Levi’s head at the moment, but he still doubted that the dragon was the only predator that called this place home.

Werewolves lived in packs in the mountains as well, they looked like normal people without the fangs in their jaws or the fluffy tail and ears that adorned their bodies. For the most part, they seemed to want to avoid humans as much as the other did. It was on the nights of a full moon that the wolves were considered a threat, the change triggering a massive bloodlust that had them shred through anything made of meat. Which unfortunately, humans were made up of. Having such a predictably unstable creature in your home wasn’t at all welcome in human eyes and as such the werewolves were always driven away if they were discovered. 

Vampires lived similarly to werewolves in covens. However, unlike their furry counterparts, these leaches actively hunted humans. They could survive off animal blood reportedly, but preferred the taste of human blood or it had better nutritional value. Or some shit like that, Levi wasn’t sure as he never had the chance to ask one. Usually the vampires’ hunting grounds were small villages where humans didn’t have as advanced defenses. If two or three people went missing overnight, particularly if they were children, it was assumed to be the work of vampires. It was rumored that the stolen people were kept by the covens as a living pantry. 

Not a fate that Levi wanted, fuck you very much. 

Driders, Naga, Harpies, and other creatures also delighted in the taste of human flesh and while living in such a large castle town, Levi had never had to worry about them before. Now his ears strained for the sound of large wings, slide of scales, or the tittering steps of too many legs. His imagination was starting to get the better of him, but he was reassured by the weight of the gear on his thighs and back. It was still in working order from his fall, but now he wouldn’t have the option of refueling his gas, which was already low from the chase. 

He’d have to use it less than sparingly. 

The only creature that humans didn’t have to typically worry about was elves. While mysterious and secretive, they usually bore no ill will towards humans unless it was justified. The pointy-eared creatures looked similar enough to humans as well, but were much more in tune with their use of magic. Some humans could use a little magic and had knowledge of potions, but they were often regarded with suspicion by the rest of their ilk. Elves often traded with human settlements, but they never stayed long, always returning to the forest they emerged from. 

Maybe if Levi found a tribe of elves they’d take pity on him and allow him to take shelter with them until he could return to the city. 

All of these creatures lived in harmony with the dragons that ruled the territories they called home. How they had obtained this truce and understanding, no human knew. When asked about dragons, the elves would always fall silent and refuse to budge on the subject. Even under the threat of violence, never a crumb of information left their lips. 

The dragons were in a league all their own. Top of the food chain and bigger than anything else in both the sky and on the land. There were five known dragons in the nearby mountain rage. The furthest south was known as the Dancer. A presumed female dragon that was the smallest of the five and with scales of olive green and gold color. It was an ironic name, since this dragon had one of the worst personalities of them all. While able to perform twists and turns beautifully in the air, Dancer was one that seemed to enjoy burning down buildings and scaring the human villages in her domain in the middle of the night. This dragon was often seen sneaking into the skies ruled by others of her kind and getting into thunderous, bloody squabbles. 

The dragon that neighbored Dancer, dwarfed her and the rest of their kind. Named the Colossal, this beast was practically the size of a mountain and had bright fiery red scales and the horns of a ram. While the largest of the beasts, it seemed the most subdued in nature. Keeping to itself and rarely bothering with humans. Not that it needed to as any sane person would keep far from such as massive monster. 

The next dragon was gold and tan in color, bulky and stockier than the others with extra thick plates of scales that covered its form like an exoskeleton. Nicknamed Armor, for its appearance, its personality was a mixture between the Colossal and that of Dancer. It drifted out of its territory from time to time to attack settlements for reasons most assumed to be boredom, but most of the time it remained in its own territory and received visits from the red scaled behemoth. 

There was a dragon just to the east of Levi that was known as Diamond for its ability to encase itself in hard crystal for defense against and for attacking its neighbors. It was a pale blue, almost white, in color that helped it blend into the clouds for stealth. Diamond seemed more interested in sparring with its neighbors than dealing with humans. But if a group came too near, a warning screech was enough to turn them away. 

Finally, there was the Rouge. A beast that was all bad attitude and fifteen meters of muscle with a wing span almost twice that. While being roughly the same size as Armor and Diamond, it was between the two in terms of muscle. The beast was covered in scales that reportedly looked blue or emerald green depending on the light. Levi hoped that he would never have to confirm if this was true or not. This dragon was the most possessive of its territory of the five, seen constantly circling the boarders of it and getting in the most fights with its kind. 

Rogue was known for its seeming hatred for humans, the dragon having burnt down dozens of villages over the centuries. However, it was always later revealed that someone in that village had offended the beast somehow. The crimes could be petty, such as stealing some branches from his forest for firewood or killing some small prey animal. Or the crime could be great, Levi heard of a story of an elf that lived in the Rogue’s forest being murdered when they went to trade in a village market. That dirt that town used to stand on was rumored to still be black in color from the ashes that were left behind.

Unfortunately, Levi was going to have to break all of Rogue’s ‘rules’ to make it through the night. 

While he had a small pack on him, it only contained a small canteen of water, a few measly strips of dried jerky, and a stale bread roll that was supposed to be his lunch before this shitstorm started. He thought that he had heard the sound of running water so that’s the direction that Levi aimed for. A few more minutes of trekking through worn deer trails led him to a stream. The water running fast and clear, hopefully that spoke the promise of it not being filled with crap that would give Levi the runs. Then again, having had to live on sewer water and stagnant wells in the past his stomach could practically be made of iron. 

This seemed to be a relatively good spot as any to set up his camp as well. Thick branches overhead to protect him from the sun, water, rocky ground near the shoreline that would allow Levi to make a fire without risk of it spreading if he wasn’t attentive to it. He only had a few knives on him, but Levi’s mastery of them allowed him to kill a rabbit with a well-timed toss. Rabbits weren’t common in the city where grass was scarce with everything made of cobblestone and too many people roaming about. 

As Levi messily skinned his dinner though, he really wished that they were. Fresh, red meat was something that he didn’t get the chance to partake in often. When times were desperate his group would hunt pigeons and crows, but they had little to no meat on them. Levi would never let his gang kill the stray dogs or cats in their territory. The animals serving as lookouts for them as the mutts would bark whenever they saw a military officer and the cats would get rid of the rats that would literally eat your toes in the middle of the night and spread disease. 

As the sun set, Levi had a small fire, a hot meal, and his thirst quenched. All and all not bad, if not for the shivers that prevented him from completely relaxing. The fire could only provide so much heat and he didn’t dare build it bigger in fear of drawing attention to himself. It was still very early fall so there was no danger of hypothermia, but that didn’t mean it was comfortable as he half curled around the smoldering embers as it grew yet darker. 

The scene still might have been serene, even with the fact that he was almost freezing his ass off. The babbling brook, the hoots of owls, and the sounds of the forest quieting down with animals that were typically active in the daytime settling in for sleep. It was like a painting come to life with beauty and peace being the themes in the artist’s mind. But to Levi it wasn’t so, his mind turbulent with his worries. Had Isabel and Furlan discovered that he wouldn’t be returning? Had they run into trouble? Would any hungry beast descend upon him while he tried to sleep? 

While Levi was used to a lack of sleep, he knew he would give into the urge at some point. He only hoped that being a light sleeper would mean that he would hear anything coming his way before it got close enough to rip out his throat. He knew it wasn’t the full moon tonight, so that was one thing going his way. 

It was awkward trying to sleep in his gear, the only way possible was to lay on his front as the cylinder rested on his back. It was worth the discomfort if it kept him from being dinner and let him keep his failsafe close. The hours passed and crickets continued to chirp annoyingly close to his ears, but eventually Levi did fall asleep. 

…..

Something was wrong.

Levi had no idea how many hours had passed, but something made a twinge run through his gut. Which told him he needed to wake the fuck up right now. His instincts had never led him wrong before so Levi ripped himself from the suffocating arms of sleep. At least internally his struggle to wake was violent. On the outside though, there was only a subtle twitch from him. The thief had been in far too many similar situations in the past to make such a rookie mistake. 

Having his opponent think that he was still asleep would allow Levi to get the element of surprise. Hopefully it would prove to be enough this time as well. 

Slowly, Levi cracked his eyes open, unsure of what would await him. 

The first thing that he noticed was that something was glimmering and reflecting the firelight just on the other side of the small brook. It wasn’t the shine from some animal’s eyes, it was too big to be a pair of peepers. Levi realized, with horror, what he was looking at was two scaly legs. The smoldering embers reflecting off the appendages that were longer than Levi was tall, ending in long talons that dug deep into the earth under them. 

Slowly his gaze lifted to that in a wide chest, giant leathery wings that were currently tucked close to a spine covered back. A long tail tipped with a deadly looking spade was twitching about. A lean serpentine neck emerged out of the creature’s chest, ending in a broad arrow-shaped head. At the crown of the dragon’s head there was a pair of horns. The bony structures grew out almost a meter in length and had subtle twists to them to make them look like a stretched-out corkscrew. The jaws of this thing were weirdly double-jointed and the sharp teeth were clearly on display with the lack of lips. 

Currently the scales that stretched over the entire creature were a dark emerald in color. Though if that was from the darkness of the night or not, Levi didn’t want to stick around long enough to find out. The beast at its shoulders stood ten meters, the neck stretching out to give the dragon another two or so meters in height. Currently a pair of glowing gold irises were locked on Levi’s form. Nostrils flaring out and forked tongue darting out from time to time to taste the air around it.

Rogue had found him, the goddesses had truly forsaken Levi today. 

What had he done to deserve this? 

Sure, he’d killed some people in the past, but Levi didn’t think that warranted being barbequed. 

The head sunk downwards, almost resting on the ground. Maybe it thought that it could better observe the intruder by lowering its gaze to a similar level. Levi didn’t fucking care, after all, he was now staring into a molten pair of eyes. 

The cat-like pupils dilated and the ridges around the pair of eyes rose, making the eyes appear wider as it too noticed that Levi was staring back. 

Yeah, it was fucking time to go. 

In one swift move Levi had leaped to his feet, using the momentum to also turn his body so that he was facing away from the dragon and instead aimed back towards the woods Levi had come from. 

Then, he ran.

The roar that followed him was piercing and full of rage. Levi had been hoping that the bulk of the beast meant that it would not be able to follow him through the thick underbrush. But that assumption proved to be incorrect as he could hear the dragon on his heels. Panicked screeches of birds and animals joined the chorus of angry lizard. The whole damn forest probably heard what was going on and, no doubt, those soldiers standing guard were delightfully imagining the thief being eviscerated. 

It was dark and Levi wasn’t used to using his gear with trees, but he had no other choice. A press of the triggers and he was shot forward. It put just a few meters more between Levi and the predator bearing down on him. 

A screech answered the human’s action and the sound almost made Levi lose his balance as the sheer volume seemed to rattle his very bones. But he kept moving, not touching the earth as he weaved through the trees. Each burst of steam gained Levi just a bit more ground and he could dare say that he was starting to hope that he would manage to outrun Rogue. 

Then the snaps of branches and scattering of rocks suddenly quieted. Had the dragon actually given up on his chase? Levi didn’t glance back to check as he continued to zip through the forest. He was running low on gas, but stopping now would be a death sentence. He needed to find a place to hide. Water was supposed to make it harder for animals to track their target’s scent. Would it work with dragons? Dark as it was and the hiss of steam loud enough to cover most natural sounds of the forest told Levi that finding a river right now would probably be like finding a coin on the streets of the poor district. 

Meaning it was impossible. 

The rush of wind from above had been Levi’s only warning before something heavy landed across his back, sending him crashing to the ground. The force that he fell with probably would have made him bounce if it wasn’t for the weight keeping him pinned on his front to the earth. Fuck, this was the second time today that he had practically ate dirt. To be fair, Levi should have expected an aerial attack from a winged lizard. 

Something Levi couldn’t have expected though was a male voice thundering above him.

“Thief! I’ll tear you to pieces, all know that everything in this territory belongs to me!” Yeah, Levi had little doubt who that voice had come from. He had never heard of dragons being able to talk, but Rogue seemed to be full of surprises as Levi managed to turn his head to the side so he could see the huge body crouched on top of him. The dragon’s wings were spread out in their full glory, the image making Rogue look like he was gloating as one heavy paw stayed on Levi’s back.

“Your transgressions have cost you your life.”

That was the second time Levi had heard those words today, seemed everything was happening in pairs. Just because life liked to doubly fuck him over.

“Well isn’t the pot calling the tea kettle black?” Levi snarked back, unable to stay his tongue despite the vicious jaws in front of his face. If he was going out, then it wouldn’t be with a whimper. It would be spitting and clawing. Even if the only weapons he had available were his words. He didn’t even know if those would get through the thick scales of the beast, but they were something.

“What?” The golden irises narrowed, the mouth, releasing another blast of steam over its prey as it spoke, making the small man flinch from the heat. There was only a sliver of fear in those shining eyes, it was unusual and it baffled the dragon as his tail twitched in agitation. He had been prepared to bite the human in half and have him as a late-night snack, but ever since the man had awoken he had been intriguing. He had fled with purpose instead of panic, even in the predator’s claws he seemed to resist his fate. It was strange.

“Ever brush your teeth? Your breath reeks like Satan’s ass,” Levi answered, wincing as the weight grew heavier on his chest as the dragon growled warningly. Levi had just been telling the truth, the lizard’s breath smelled like ode to sulfur and ash. 

“Explain yourself, human. Before I crush you like the insect you are.”

Yeah, Rogue’s patience was wearing thin, that much was obvious to Levi, but he hadn’t exactly expected to get a scaly earhole for his troubles. Still, Levi was always a quick thinker, “You say that everything that is in your territory is yours, but now I’m in your territory. Doesn’t that make me part of it? Also by killing me, you’d be making that rabbit’s sacrifice truly mean nothing.” 

Why the fuck would a big ass dragon care about a measly rabbit? Levi didn’t know, but apparently, he might have won the lottery in terms of sympathetic man-eaters as Rogue drew his head back to stare at the human, head tilting to the side much like a confused hound. 

“You’re a strange human,” the dragon finally murmured, golden irises continuing to trail up and down his prey’s form. With a simple flick of his paw, he had Levi rolled onto his back, a large claw on his chest keeping him still. 

A hiss of pain escaped Levi as the cylinder was forced against his already bruised back by this new position. “I’ve been called much worse than that, you need to work on your insults.” 

“Perhaps it wasn’t an insult you brash thing.” It wasn’t in the Rogue’s mind. After all, if this human acted like the rest of his kind he’d already be dead. Instead, here they were, having a conversation. There was no begging for his life, no muscles locked up in fear, and no tears. If anything, the human looked annoyed, like being under the paw of a dragon was some minor inconvenience to him. 

Either, he was very brave or very stupid, the predator decided. 

“You have very interesting eyes, they look like blue moonstone. It’s not a shade I have ever seen in man before.” 

The tone that the dragon used didn’t make it sound like a compliment to Levi, instead it was simply an observation. The Rogue’s eyes continuing to analyze him, like if he looked hard enough he could see through the human’s clothes and skin. Levi had always been a man to return a turn for another, shrugging as much as he could in his situation, “Your eyes look like hunks of topaz I could sell for a king’s feast.”

Actually, just one scale from the dragon would probably land Levi a fortune. Still it probably wouldn’t be wise for him to ask if he could carve one out of Rogue’s ass.

A snort of steam and a rumble came from the dragon that Levi assumed was the beast’s form of laughter. 

“So, by your logic, little human. By entering my territory, you now belong to me. Correct?”

“I wouldn’t go as far to fucking say that-“

“I would.” The dragon cut him off, the ridges of scales around his jaws drawing back to reveal the shiny teeth more. 

“Well good for you, now get off me.” Levi growled back, he felt like they were out of the territory of him becoming a meal. He dared to start pushing at the paw on top of him, only then did he realize how warm the dragon’s body was. Almost blistering hot and Levi wondered if his skin would have been covered in burns by now from the prolonged contact without his shirt offering its meager protection. 

“I think not, I might have lost my dinner, but I think that I have gained a new treasure.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?! Look, just let me go and we can peacefully ignore each other, you won’t even notice me in your big ass forest.” Levi did not like where this conversation was going and he began to squirm under the beast’s foot. Pinned as he was, he couldn’t reach the knife in his belt. Even if he could, Levi doubted that the puny weapon would do anything against Rogue. The curses that spilled from Levi’s lips were silenced when the tip of a deadly looking claw rested just before his lips.

“Hush. I think it’s time you sleep like the rest of the black birds.” 

Levi’s eyes met the dragon’s, ready to chew the bastard out only to stiffen as the molten eyes started to rapidly shift in color. The gold was now swirling to emerald and sapphire. There was no pattern to the changing colors as they seemed to be random. 

Entrancing. 

Levi’s eyes were beginning to feel heavy and his head was becoming fuzzy. 

Then his world went black. 

The next time Levi awoke, there were domed golden bars sitting above his head.


	2. Gilded Cage Cheap Tongue

There were domed golden bars sitting above Levi’s head…

Why were there domed golden bars sitting above his head?

Levi’s blue eyes narrowed as he racked his mind for an answer. His whole body was aching horribly and he was still trying to recover from the last vestiges of sleep. There was a pounding just behind his forehead and as he forced himself to sit up the resulting wave of dizziness almost made him flop back down. He’d dealt with hangovers in the past, but this felt different. It was like someone had hammered a chisel right into his skull. It was an internal pain, there was no bump to speak of when he felt over his head to make sure. 

Only as he took his hand away did Levi take a good long look as his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that the place was huge. The second was the fact that it was made of rock, no, not your standard brick and mortar. This was legit inside of a mountain, sanded smooth by time and friction, rock. Little holes pocketed the walls everywhere, ranging in size from the tip of Levi’s finger to the opening of a wine barrel. There were also deep grooves gouged into the rock that acted like makeshift shelves, filled to the brim with glittering things. 

Those shimmers, Levi was a thief, so he easily recognized the precious stones and jewels that would have fetched a handsome price on the market. Or Levi could, ya know, take a handful of the literally thousands of golden coins scattered and piled into huge mounds all across the cave. 

It wasn’t just coins, there were chests, goblets, scepters, candle holders, bowls, statues, vases, and many over expensive trinkets scattered about. They weren’t all gold, there was silvers, bronzes, and other gleaming metals. Emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and other precious stones, along with cheap little pieces of quarts existed in both tiny, perfectly polished pieces and in huge hunks the size of dinner plates. 

There were also smooth marble columns sprouting from the floor, some of them reached the ceiling of the cave, the top of which was probably more than thirty meters high. Many didn’t though, ranging in various size and height, more than a few of the mounds of treasures towered over the columns. The entire cave seemed to be lit by countless torches dotting the walls at various levels. The light bouncing off the numerous reflective surfaces making the walls and surroundings glitter. 

A few exquisite pieces of furniture were lying about, couches made of leather and velvet, four poster beds with silk drapes for privacy, beautiful, elegant rugs and tapestries. Pillows, cushions, and blankets of unbelievable designs and soft materials, a large pile of those was what Levi currently found himself comfortably resting on. 

One pile seemed to be made completely out of weapons. There were swords and knives of various styles, shields with the crests of different guilds and empires, bows of different shapes, and arrows just as dissimilar stuck out here or there. On the top of this mound, sat Levi’s maneuver gear, it appeared dented but in relatively good condition from what Levi could see. 

Something had taken Levi’s gear off him, and from what he could remember it was a very big something. 

He quickly scanned his body, he was still dressed in the same clothing as he was yesterday. The tight fitted black pants, short-sleeved white button-up that was covered in stains from both grass and dirt, brown vest, and his belts. The only thing that was missing from him was his pack, gear, and boots. 

No missing limbs at least, honestly with how deadly those claws looked Levi was surprised that the belts were intact and that he was in one piece.

Why was he still alive was another matter altogether, not that he wasn’t ungrateful to not be dead. But as he remembered how the conversation ‘ended’, Levi had a feeling that he wasn’t exactly going to like his new fate. 

A big clue was the fact that he was sitting in what looked like a giant fucking birdcage. 

Great. 

The structure was impressive, thick golden bars that were placed narrowly enough to not let their captive slip out, but did not block Levi’s vision. The cage was cylindrical in shape, the top being a perfect dome that ended in a loop attached to a chain that hung the cage from the ceiling of the cave. Levi guessed that he was currently sitting three meters off the ground. Each movement he made threatened to swing and rock his shiny prison. The bottom of it was covered in cushions and blankets, giving him soft bedding. It was much nicer than he’d ever experienced before, certainly, but he’d much rather have a bed that gave him the option to get out of it. 

The cage was a decent size, the diameter of it allowing Levi to lay flat comfortably and straight, probably about two or three meters wide and bars stretching a little taller than that. 

Levi needed to get out of here, hopefully before Mr. Snaggletooth came back. 

It took a few tries to get to his feet, the cage tipped and swinging precariously until Levi figured out how to balance himself. His experience with the sensitive 3D gear probably helped in how quickly he mastered it. Honestly, Levi hadn’t been expecting too much but he still groaned when he discovered that the door was locked and wouldn’t give no matter how he tried to push, pull, or kick it. 

So, he wasn’t going to get out that way, fine. Levi would just have to look for another. He checked each of the bars, finding none that had any give to them. Gritting his teeth, he kicked the pillows and bedding out of the way to examine where the bottom plate of the cage and where the bars were welded together. Again, Levi’s efforts proved to be fruitless. 

Dammit all, it took effort, but Levi managed to heave himself up to the top of the cage by use of some of the horizontal bars that ran along the sides of the cage. The bars only grew narrower towards the top of the golden prison, but he managed to work his hand through them to feel for the pin that attached the cage to the chain. It’d probably hurt like hell, but he hoped that if the cage fell to the floor then perhaps it would break open on impact. 

Disappointment once again met his efforts. 

He was truly trapped inside of a birdcage sitting on his ass… waiting for a dragon to return. 

Levi just kept having fan-fucking-tastic luck. The irony of being a thief stuck in a room full of riches and unable to do anything with them was not lost on him either. He wondered how much time had passed, was it morning or night? There was no source of natural lighting that Levi could see to tell him the time. 

There was only one way for him to get answers and taking a deep breath, Levi shouted, voice echoing in the huge treasure trove, “Oi, sulfur breath! You here?!”

Only silence greeted him, perfect, so the overgrown lizard really was out. Levi had no idea of when Rogue might return and he could only hope that it would be before Levi died of thirst or starvation. Dragons were supposed to be possessive creatures so Levi reasoned that the other wouldn’t be gone that long. How Levi wished that the pile of weapons was just a little bit closer. Then again, Levi didn’t know how much use they would be when it was obvious that their previous owners failed in their extermination of the monster. 

Levi frowned at that thought. That title didn’t seem to fit his captor. During their first encounter Rogue had made an attempt on his life. Despite this, the dragon seemed confused, inquisitive, and amused once they started to talk. Rogue was different from the ball of rage and brimstone that Levi had been led to believe after the stories he had heard. 

Not that Levi wasn’t still pissed as hell about be stuck in the dragon’s collection like a trophy. Maybe that’s exactly what Rogue thought of him as, a prize. A glance around the hoard showed that the only living thing inside of it besides himself was the flowering plants and vines that snaked along the columns and walls. 

Time started to tick by, Levi trying to keep himself entertained by counting how many columns there were, the different types of swords he could see, and internally lamenting on how much a disorganized mess the hoards were. The only one sorted by type was the weapons but he supposed the reason for that was so that Rogue didn’t end up stepping on something pointy on accident while he paraded about his collection. 

The sound of something scrapping against rock brought Levi out of musing, eyes quickly darting about for the source. He didn’t find it until he glanced upwards, seeing the large shape making its way down the walls. The sounds of claws scarping and clicking against rock grew louder as the dragon easily scaled his way down to the floor. For such a large beast, Levi was surprised by how quiet Rogue managed to be. Golden eyes were flickering about the cave, head bobbing slightly with each step the dragon took as it made rounds over and between each of the mounds of treasures. 

Seeming to be satisfied with everything being accounted for so far, Rogue finally made his way over to Levi’s area. The dragon froze as he caught sight of the human, whom was sitting with his arms crossed over his chest with a far from happy expression on his face. 

“So, the blackbird awakens. Did you enjoy your nap?” The tone was gloating as Rogue came closer to the cage, head lowering so it was level with the occupant inside. However, Levi could have sworn that there was just a slight undertone of confusion in the dragon’s voice. 

“Har, har, what the fuck did you do to me?” It was a loaded question that had many meanings.

“I presume you are asking why you fell asleep, it’s a handy little trick is it not? Only works on lesser creatures.” The dragon rumbled, obviously laughing at the annoyed expression that Levi pulled at the not so subtle insult to his species. Rogue had now curled his body loosely around the cage, one of his clawed fingers tapping the golden bars to make it swing slightly. He obviously delighted in the curses he got for his efforts as the raven tried to keep his balance. 

The litt-big piece of shit. Levi was almost sent rolling off his tower of pillows, having had stacked them in the center while checking the edges of his prison earlier. As the world stopped its swaying, Levi turned to glare at the dragon, tensing as he was met with eyes that were rapidly shifting in color. They were the colors he had seen the night before, golds, blues, and greens that swirled and collide with each other in irises that housed narrow pupils. 

Muscles were starting to relax, shoulders dropping without Levi’s permission. Eyes staying locked with those of the dragon, he couldn’t look away. Wait, fuck, that was it! It took tremendous effort just to forced himself to blink. As soon as he did though, he felt whatever grip the predator had on him loosening and Levi quickly turned his head so he wasn’t meeting those hypnotizing eyes. 

An impressed sounding hum came from the dragon as he too blinked making the eyes return to their original, and thankfully stagnant, golden hue, “Figured it out already? You’re a clever little creature, for sure.” 

Levi had to bite into his bottom lip to not lash out at the ‘little’ comment, of course he was fucking tiny to a huge dragon. Not many people got away with making light of his height, but being on the other side of the bars, Rogue was free of the risk of Levi going for his eyes or a stomp to the tail. Then again, Levi didn’t feel like losing a limb. 

“My kind has the ability to use a charm on our prey when we met eyes. If I told you to walk off a cliff or to slide yourself down my throat, you’d do it in a heartbeat.” 

That was not a pretty image for Levi and he wondered briefly how many humans had fallen prey to such a trick before. Maybe Rogue and others of his kind delighted in watching people off themselves before enjoying the leftovers. Levi had never heard of dragons having such a power, but then again, he suspected that most people that experienced it never got the chance to blab about it. 

Levi had to question what had happened while he was ‘out’ then. Blue eyes narrowing as he glared at the dragon, making sure to look at the center of Rogue’s forehead or at his horns rather than meeting his eyes. “So, did you do anything else with my unconscious ass beside stuffing me into a cage?”

A confused tilt of Rogue’s head was the answer, obviously not understanding what the human was alluding to. “No, I told you to sleep and that’s what you did. Then I brought you back to my home.” The dragon couldn’t frown with his lack of lips, but his voice was able to portray his emotions in the absence of facial expressions, “Actually, I don’t understand why you are awake right now.” 

Getting a raised bow in response Rogue continued, “You shouldn’t have awoken until I gave you the order to.”

“Maybe you’ve lost your touch with old age.” Levi couldn’t help but quip back. It really was a disturbing thought, having his body bend to such a degree to the orders of someone else. The orders of a predator that was supposed to hate Levi’s kind.

“Excuse you, I am only nine hundred years old. I’m not even in my prime yet,” Rogue countered, sounding rightly offended as he tapped Levi’s cage once more. This time the human lost his balance, sending him careening off the pile of pillows. 

Levi cursed the silky material of the cushions that sent him ass over head into the bars, the dragon’s rumbling laughter growing with the foul curses that came from his lips. Sitting up, Levi winced as he rubbed over the growing lump at the back of his head. “So basically, I’m dealing with an overgrown scaly brat? If I was your age I would be shitting out dust.” 

Levi had already known that the beast was bloody old, but he didn’t think that he was THAT ancient. Human records only went so far back and with villages so easily sent up in flames or completely raided, it was difficult to keep a consistent written account of events. Levi couldn’t even imagine what the world had looked like so long ago or what it would be like to live through so many ages. Did time seem fast or slow to such a creature? Levi probably would have killed himself if he had to sit through literal centuries. 

A roar of laughter came from reptile as he murmured, “My, such a mouth, you’re lucky you’re such a pretty thing.”

“Yeah, about that,” Levi’s eyes narrowed, not continuing until he was sure he had the dragon’s attention as the beast had taken to rolling a large golden ball between his paws. “As fun as this has been, ya know, talking to an ancient beast, almost getting grilled alive, and being trapped in a big ass cage that could feed me and my future generations for decades to come… I should really get going.”

“You’re not leaving.”

“Yes, I think I’ll make my grand fucking exit. Now let me out of this stupid thing.” Levi couldn’t stay here, he had to get back to his crew, make sure that Furlan and Isabel were alright. Also, he just wanted to rub his survival in Nile’s face before he gutted him like the military pig that he was. If he could get away from Rogue with just a handful of coins that would be a bonus. 

“I think you are making light of your situation. Did you forget your station?” Rogue’s voice had dropped, all levity of their earlier banter gone as the dragon narrowed his eyes and moved his head closer to the cage. Hot breath ruffling the captive’s hair and clothing, but the man’s expression didn’t change despite how very close those sharp teeth now were. It would be no problem for him to just bite through the bars, crunching through metal as easily as he could with the flesh and bones of a rabbit. 

“You’re now part of my collection, human. You will continue to be so until you either die or I tire of you.” He doubted that that either option would be very soon. The raven was interesting and certainly entertaining. 

“You cannot keep me here,” Levi’s own snarl rivaled the dragon’s in venom as he stood up, it wasn’t much, but it felt nice to be standing tall instead of sitting. It seemed to do little to sway the beast as he simply turned his head away, as if bored with the conversation. The bastard was acting like Levi was some petulant child or an agitated house cat after a bath. Levi wasn’t the one with a tail, thank you very much. “Do you even know how to care for a human? Going to feed and water me, take me out for walks and all that shit?”

“Peace be quiet!” The dragon roared, rearing up on his back legs before landing back down heavily so the entire cave shook. This human was insolent, ignoring the danger he was in and refusing to respect the beast that could easily devour him. 

Levi winced as the volume, but managed to stay on his feet despite how the cage jumped with the movement. All his practice with the 3D maneuver gear had certainly helped him learn how to keep his balance if he was expecting it. Steam rushed out of the dragon’s nose in anger as he glared down at him, it was obvious that the creature wasn’t used to hearing the word ‘no’. Levi was so sorry to disappoint as he refused to back down, being careful to not make direct eye contact to avoid being entranced once more. Rogue’s phrasing definitely dated the beast, sounding like some old scroll with a string of words that Levi remembered basically meant ‘shut the fuck up’. 

The two continued to glare at each for a few more moments before the dragon turned on his heels and stalked away, disappearing between the mounds of treasure. Levi doubted that Rogue went far, but the distance was a bit of a relief as he let himself flop back on the pillows. He let his thoughts stew, glaring up at the ceiling of his cage as he wondered what he should do next. It seemed that Levi wasn’t going to be getting out of this prison unless Rogue decided to let him out. After that temper tantrum from both sides, Levi doubted that that would be anytime soon. 

….

Growling to himself, he slithered his way about his hoard, clawing clicking against the metal coins that carpeted the floor. It would have been tricky footing for any other creature, but not for a dragon. Even if one did move the coins out of the way they would be in for a surprise. The entire floor was made of gold, melted by dragon’s flames and smoothed out by constant strokes of a long tail.

Climbing to the top of one of the largest piles of coins and treasures the dragon collapsed onto them, wings splaying out lazily on either side of him and tail swaying slowly from side to side. His thick hide was not at all bothered by sharp points and angles of different objects such as picture frames, scepters, crowns, and other knickknacks among the coins.

Metal proved to be great at storing heat, which was another reason why dragons adored to hoard it so much. During the long winter months, a few minutes of billowing fire onto a pile of gold until it was white hot could provide heat for hours. 

It was also pretty and shiny. 

Much like his newest addition. The human’s hair reminded him of a raven’s feathers, his skin pale and soft looking despite the corded muscle underneath, fine build despite his short stature that only add to the strange charm he exuded. Then finally, the man’s eyes. Last night’s statement was no exaggeration, those orbs really did look like polished moonstone. A shade of pale blue that looked like it was almost veined in silver and flecked with chipped off pieces of crystal. 

The dragon had only ever seen moonstone in Annie’s domain and if was one thing that dragons didn’t do, it was share. The cold female also knew how much he desired one of the stones and as such refused to offer one up whenever their small group got together for their usual games. It was typical to offer something of value as a prize for whomever won the nature of the game that the young dragons decided to play.

The idea of sneaking into her territory to pilfer one never crossed his mind. He was too proud and it went against the customs of their kind… even if there was so very few of them left to remember them. 

Beauty was not enough to keep a dragon from making its kill. Deer, bears, and other such creatures were beautiful in their own way. However, in the end, they were just a source of meat to feed a growling belly. No, this odd human had something else to offer that his usual prey did not. 

A tongue as sharp as a fang and a personality that was as cuddly as an ovulating basilisk, this human proved to be strange from the moment they met. If one was wondering, basilisks already had a sour attitude, but when mating season came around even dragons preferred to give those creatures a wide berth. 

Perhaps his new blackbird didn’t sing, but screeched. He couldn’t fault him for it, from what he had seen from the skies the other day this human had been hunted by his own kind for one reason or another. He was curious as to the reason why, but in the grand scheme of things it didn’t matter much to the dragon. He now had the raven in his clutches and he was determined to keep him there. In theory, it shouldn’t be too hard to keep the human alive. He had dealt more personally with elves and he knew their biology was not too different.

Speaking of, he really should take some water to the human. They both should have calmed their nerves by now, with time the dragon was certain that he could tame the other down. There were so many plans he had for his new plaything. 

…

A deep huff at his right side made Levi flinch, head jerking to the side to see that the dragon had returned. How the fuck was such a creature so quiet? 

“What do you want, Rogue?” Levi had cooled down a little, still annoyed, but that was pretty much his default emotion. 

“Rogue?” The name was repeated, large head tilting once more as the dragon blinked slowly. 

“That’s what all the humans call you, the rogue dragon. Just Rogue for short.” Honestly Levi shouldn’t be that surprised that the other didn’t know what the humans called him. The dragon didn’t seem one that would choose socializing over flambeeing someone. Levi was starting to realize how much of a special case he was as he noticed the sneer on the dragon’s face as his tongue flicked out in the air.

“Rogue usually means villainous does it not? I think that term applies more to your species more than my own.” There was anger the dragon’s voice, low growl rumbling in his throat as he glared at a wall. “You are the ones that take more than you need and show no respect for nature. Humans are a hateful race, no other commits murder for such petty reasons as yours. Yours abandons those in need without a thought even if you are kin. No other creature hunts what they can’t and do not intend to eat. None-“ The predator cut himself off with a large huff of steam and agitated swish of his tail. 

Levi blinked, apparently they had walked themselves into a sensitive topic. All he could do now was try and steer the conversation in a way that wouldn’t end with Levi being barbequed if the dragon decided his hatred for humans was greater than his desire to keep him alive, “What should I call you then, oh great master?”

The dragon blinked at the request and title, the way the skin and scales that edged the sharp teeth made Levi feel like he had just made a mistake. 

“Eren. You shall call me master or lord Eren, pet.” 

Yeah, there was a better chance at Levi being named prince of the kingdom than that happening. An ice cube surviving in the fiery depths of hell or maybe humans suddenly ending all wars against each other was more likely. Levi didn’t say as much, even if his face did as Eren let out another low rumble of laughter, this one felt more warning than anything as he asked, “Now what shall I call you, my little birdie?”

The temptation to tell the other to fuck off was there, but he managed to hold his tongue. Something told him that even if he did tell Eren his name, the dragon would continue with his weird nicknames. 

“Levi.” 

“Well, Levi,” Eren seemed to enjoy the taste of the human’s name on his tongue, the forked appendage constantly flicking out as he spoke. The dragon was looking satisfied as he continued, “Welcome to your new home.” 

“…Delightful, but I’d much prefer a nice little cabin in the woods and without a scaly bastard of a guard dog.” Came the most sarcastic return Eren had ever heard. This was going to be a more interesting arrangement than Eren thought, but he wasn’t about to let Levi overstep his bounds. The tip of his tail moved to wrap around one of the bars of the cage. 

Moonstone eyes widen much to Eren’s glee as the other quickly figured out what he intended to do. 

“Don’t you dare.”

A hiss of amusement and anticipation came from the dragon in answer, the ‘smile’ on Eren’s face showing the gums in his mouth. Levi didn’t have time to brace himself before the jerk of the tail came, sending the cage into a rapid spin the treasure hoard becoming a blur for Levi as he tried in vain to grab one of the bars for support. 

The cave as filled with the sound of vulgar curses, roars of laughter, and the jangling of a heavy chain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go, next chapter. Levi's not so pleased with his new situation while Eren having more fun than he's had in a millennium. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed their interaction. 
> 
> Please leave a comment and tell me what you think, I'd love to hear your thoughts and it makes my day


	3. Who Needs Enemies When You Have a Master Like This

As the cage finally stopped its spinning, the blurs that been the different colors of the cushions settled back into their original hues and positions. The occupant that had been forced to endure the ride of his life was revealed to be laying on his side at the bottom of the prison. Levi was half curled up and his fingers were pure white with the effort that they were exerting on the bars he had managed to grab. It didn’t matter that the cage had finally stopped, Levi wasn’t going to risk letting go and being sent into another tailspin by a scaly bastard.

What the fuck had Levi done in his past or current life that deserved this? Sure, he had killed some people, but they were all scum anyway so it shouldn’t be counted against him too much in his opinion. Then again, maybe this was some cosmic plot so that by suffering now in his next life he would live like a king.

If Levi was brought before the god, goddess, higher beings or what have you… He’d punch them in the face and then stick his foot so far up their asses that they’d be wearing it for weeks. Or he would as soon as the world stopped swaying so much. He wasn’t about to even try getting up, knowing he’d only embarrass himself as he’d no doubt look like a piss-poor drunken fool. 

No, Levi was content to stay at the bottom of the cage where it was relatively safe from the whims of the dragon that was chortling above him. 

“I hate you,” Levi’s voice was filled with as much force and venom as he could manage with a queasy stomach. He was wondering if his organs had gotten twisted and spun around as well. 

“Ah ah, you might want to watch your tongue unless you want to go for another ride.” Eren warned, grinning gleefully as he knew that he had asserted his dominance over the little human in a way that Levi could no longer deny. As a dragon, he was the predator and would always be such, Levi by the same token would forever be the prey. 

Prey were things to be used and played with, to devour and provide sustenance for something higher up on the food chain than they were. Humans often forgot this fact, they were an enigma to the natural order, constantly wasting things, taking more than they needed, and deciding things that could not feed their growling bellies were worth more than their lives or their fellows’ lives. 

Such a statement might sound hypocritical from a race of creatures that hoarded anything pretty and shiny, but Eren wasn’t going to risk his life over his collection. But there wasn’t much that COULD be dangerous to a dragon, as his pile of weapons proved. 

Levi continued to glare at Eren from his position on the floor of the cage, much to his amusement not another word left Levi’s mouth. It seemed like his new pet could follow instructions with enough incentive. He wanted to know more about his new prize though, head cocking to the side as he asked, “Why did you come to my forest? I saw you being chased by other humans earlier.”

When only silence greeted him, Eren felt annoyance crawl over his sharp spines, there was smugness in those moonstone eyes and he realized that Levi was being cheeky. Huffing out a breath of steam Eren growled out, “Speak, human.”

“Oh, thank you, gracious master for letting me use my words,” Levi answered finally, tone dripping in false gratefulness that had Eren’s tail lashing in obvious agitation. He risked sitting up, though his grip never left the bars just in case Eren decided he had enough of his lip. It was disturbing to think that the dragon had been watching him all along. That when he was sneaking through the quiet woods he had been stalked silently by something that could have fried him in an instant. If Eren attacked him from behind Levi didn’t doubt that he’d be dead before he realized what had happened. 

So why had Eren decided to wait so long before he struck? Maybe he got his giggles out of having his prey see their end approaching. The possibility seemed to be there as the longer that Levi interacted with Eren, the more the so called fearsome dragon reminded him of a surly feline. Eren probably liked to play with his food. Not exactly a comforting thought considering the position Levi found himself in. At least he wasn’t as small as a mouse to a cat when compared to the dragon. If he had met the Colossal that might have been the case. 

A tap of a claw against the cage pulled Levi out of his thoughts, there was annoyance in those strange pupils, but more than anything he saw curiosity swimming in their golden depths. 

“I was being chased because I’m a thief. Military was pissed off about me stealing enough to keep myself and a few of my crew alive. Yesterday was the most determined that they’ve ever been to catch me though. Merchants must have bitched enough to make them get off their asses.” Levi answered casually, but he knew how close it had been. 

A pretty rope necktie would have awaited Levi if he had been even a hair slower. 

Eren seemed to understand what Levi was alluding to as his own eyes narrowed and a small growl came from his chest. Already the beast was possessive over him. “So, you had to leave your clan behind.” 

Clan? Was that what dragons referred their groups as? They seemed to be solitary creatures from what the stories told, but seemed like Levi could completely rewrite the dusty tome by now. 

“It doesn’t matter, regardless you’re here now. A thief now counted among treasures, what an interesting turn of fate.” Eren finally continued, obviously dismissing the mere notion that Levi would be returning to human society and his companions. 

“Yeah, fucking hilarious,” Levi growled back, obviously not as enthused as Eren was with the irony of the situation. It didn’t matter what big and scaly thought, Levi would get back to his group, he just had to wait for the opportunity to present itself. Until then he had to hope that Eren could handle his basic needs. 

Speaking of which…

“If you’re so obsessed with keeping your collection in top form then it shouldn’t be too much to request a bath, right?” Golden orbs zeroed in on him in obvious suspicion, no doubt that Eren was able to see through the ploy that Levi was using to get out of the golden prison. Even if it was only for a few minutes and under strict supervision, Levi needed to get out of the cage for at least some amount of time or he would lose his mind. 

“I suppose you do stink.” 

Eren muttered ignoring the sharp glare that he got from his company. The statement wasn’t fully true nor was it false. While Levi’s body had the stale scent that came with being unable to bathe regularly, it was mostly covered up by the unique, tantalizing smell that seemed to cling to him. Yes, his smell was different from the other humans that Eren had come across. Somehow it came off as fresher? It was hard from Eren to put into words, Levi’s scent reminded him of what the forest smelled like right before rain would roll in, along with something sharp, like fresh picked herbs. 

Finally, Eren let out a small hum as his tail slithered forward, the key to the cage held in a coil of scale covered muscles that acted like a fifth hand. With ease the key was slotted into the lock and the door swung open, not that it did much good for Levi as the height of the cage above the ground along with the dragon blocking the entrance didn’t exactly make for a good escape route. 

When Levi didn’t move Eren gave a long sigh, his tail sneaking into the cage and wrapping firmly around the waist of his prize. Easily he pried Levi out despite his grip on the bars and loud protest at being man-, well, dragon handled. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing you overgrown lizard?!”

The insult rewarded Levi by being carelessly tossed into the air by his captor. A cry of surprise was forced from his lips as he felt his body starting to fall back towards the earth, eyes widening as his fingers immediately twitched for the triggers of his gear, only to be met by nothing. Shit, he had been thrown up high, Levi didn’t need to look down to confirm that. Landing at his speed and with such force, he had no doubts that he might break a few bones. It wouldn’t kill him, but it would certainly be far from pleasant. 

Just as he was sure that his head was about to be cracked open on the gold covered floor like an egg, his body was jerked to a stop. The grip around his chest and waist was back, despite being saved Levi’s neck creaked in protest at the sudden stop. It almost felt like when he had gotten whiplash the first few times he had used the 3D gear. 

“It seems you really can’t fly without that contraption acting as your wings,” Eren mused, tone disappointed as his head snaked back on his long neck so he could be closer to the human wrapped up in his tail. 

“Couldn’t you think of a better way to test that?” Levi growled, his expression showing only anger and annoyance, but Eren could feel the way that the other’s heart hammered against his chest and in turn into his tail. It almost made a twinge of guilt take root in Eren.

Almost. 

And as he didn’t, Eren had no qualms in flicking his forked tongue out and smothering the human’s face with it. The shocked and scandalized look he received had been completely worth it. The bare foot he got to the end of his snout wasn’t too heavy a price to pay despite the sting of it making Eren jerk his head back with a hissing yelp. 

Both human and dragon froze for a moment realizing that Levi had dared to attack Eren, light and instinctual as the attempt was. They stared at each other for what felt like forever before Levi finally muttered managing to squirm one arm free from the coils around him to wipe at his still wet face, “So, that bath? Now I need to get your drool off me too.”

This human was so very strange, interesting, but Levi had Eren scratching at his head more than he had in his centuries of life in one short day. Levi didn’t act like a typical human, a normal person would have been terrified after being licked by a predator that could easily swallow him whole. A sane human would have started begging for mercy the moment they realized that they had ‘hurt’ their massive captor.

But Levi did none of these things. Maybe there was something physically or mentally wrong with his newest treasure, but a sniff over him showed that there was none of the telltale signs of sickness and Levi had proven himself as being rather clever. Eren just didn’t understand this feisty creature, but that was exactly why he was so fascinated and determined to keep him. 

Another cloud of steam escaped out of Eren’s nostrils before he finally started to move. Levi tucked in his tail so tightly that there wasn’t a chance that he could wiggle free. Not that he would want to, particularly when Eren started to climb the near vertical walls of his lair. As the pair grew higher, the fall became ever more deadly. Levi was used to heights, spinning through the air and traveling at break neck speeds while using his gear had long since become second nature to him. 

The main difference between his gear and dangling from a living appendage was that he no longer had control. Levi was a person that liked control of where his body was going thank you very much. But Eren didn’t seemed to care about his new pet’s sentimentalities as he continued to climb without sending a single glance back at him despite the panicked squirming that his passenger gave.

With his rush of adrenaline having nowhere to go and knowing that death awaited him if he did fall from Eren’s grip Levi stayed tense and still as Eren slithered his way into a tunnel that soon engulfed the pair in darkness. The fact that Eren didn’t jam his snout into any rocks was probably for two reasons. One, the dragon obviously had no problem seeing in the darkness, and two this had probably been Eren’s lair for centuries according to the history books. Even blinded and his nose blocked up, Levi didn’t doubt that Eren would be able to find his way. 

Then it was bright, too fucking bright, as the change in lighting made Levi’s eyes sting in protest and squint as he tried take in his surroundings. What he found made his breath hitch. Sure, he knew that they were inside of a mountain and would probably emerge from near the top of it. However, seeing the forest sprawling below him, rivers looking like thick blue threads scattered about, and the small brown lumpy mass that was probably Levi’s city in the distance… it was incredible. 

Levi had never really left the city limits until yesterday and had never sparred a thought on what might be waiting just outside of the cramped mass of drunkards, bastards, military dogs, and rich assholes. Now sitting at what felt like the top of the world, Levi never felt so small. 

A pang of jealousy towards Eren rose inside of Levi as he knew that this sight was nothing special to the bratty reptile. Eren was a fearsome predator that had no limitations on where he could and couldn’t go. Huge wings could fly Eren far into the horizon on a whim when it would take a man months to transverse the same distance. A home was something that Eren had that Levi wanted desperately, no one could force a dragon from its lair. However, Levi and his gang lived with a constant cloud of uncertainty hanging above their heads. At any second the military could descend upon them and force them to uproot themselves in search of a new hideout while running for their lives. 

Yes, Eren certainly was blessed with what he had and the fucker probably didn’t realize it as the dragon barely turned his head to look around before his wings gave a powerful flap.

Then, they were flying. 

It was a completely different feeling than when Levi was using his gear. With the constant unhooking, pulling of straps, and the intense heat of the canister on his back using 3D maneuver gear was far from a comfortable experience. It didn’t matter how many calluses Levi had, how skilled he was, or the fact that he had been using the tools for over a decade. When his pants and shirt came off, there was always bruises resting where the straps had sat. 

This, on the other hand, was smooth. There was no jerking motion like what the wires gave as they pulled him towards his anchors. Even when Eren beat his wings, there wasn’t a break in the rhythm that made Levi feel like he was just floating through the air. By now, Levi had finally made his body relax. 

That wasn’t to say that he trusted Eren, more like he had to hold a candle of faith out towards him or risk having a heart attack.

Eren wasn’t aiming them outwards, instead he had his body slightly turned making his body gradually drop lower as he circled his mountain. Eren normally didn’t have to worry about where he landed, but with his cargo he was going out of his way to make his presence known to the creatures below. His wings rotating slightly from time to time to create bright patches of sparkling glares off his scales on particularly dark patches of rocks and forest. He knew those where the homes of things that would more than happily partake in human flesh if given the chance. 

While high up as they were, most beings wouldn’t be able to see the human wrapped up inside of the dragon’s tail. They would however, be able to smell Levi especially when the gusts that Eren kicked up spread the human’s scent through the air. 

Eren had claimed this human and he was making damn sure that everyone knew it. He wasn’t about to glide about all his territory though, he did promise that he would get Levi cleaned up and he intended to keep it. Eren would have to rely on the word of mouth of his ‘subjects’ to spread the message. More than likely the more curious creatures would attempt to investigate the odd occurrence of a human being in the territory and NOT being on the menu. 

A few minutes later and the pair landed further down the mountain side. The midmorning sun was bright and glittered across the face of the pools of water nestled between large boulders. They were still around forty meters above the rest of the forest and the surroundings were still flushed with life despite the altitude. 

A scattering of trees and bushes ringed the pools providing a living curtain of privacy. Moss made for soft footing Levi discovered as he was set down on his ass finally. His legs feeling a little bit like jelly as he staggered for a few steps until he regained his balance. What was it with this lizard that made him like to keep Levi unsteady on his feet? He noticed a few hardy flowers also sprouted here and there in the little groove in the mountainside. 

The pools, Levi realized as he moved closer, were steaming slightly. 

Eren rumbled softly in his chest in amusement as he watched Levi inspect his new environment. Every cautious toing of the fuzzy, living ground, the grimace on his face when bits of plant matter stuck to his skin. The look of wonder when Levi dipped his fingers into the water was Eren’s favorite to take in. The slight widening of Levi’s eyes as his head snapped to the side whenever he heard a bird’s song or a rustle in the brush. This was obviously the most nature that Levi had been around in his entire life and the slowness of his steps showed he was ready to move.

Either to fight or to flee, Levi seemed to be very in tune with his most basic instincts compared to the other humans Eren had interacted with. Those same instincts no doubt had probably saved Levi many times in the past. Still Eren found himself not liking how anxious Levi looked, he thought about saying something along the lines of ‘I’m here, no one’s going to bother you.’. However, he wasn’t so deluded to think that he wasn’t the cause of some of Levi’s distress, actually he was probably most of it with the way those pale eyes would flick over to him constantly. 

Instead, Eren helpfully asked, “Are you going to bathe with your clothes on?”

“Maybe I will.” Levi really didn’t want to, but when he noticed the almost leering gaze that Eren had on him, Levi decided that he really needed to weigh his options. Wet uncomfortable clothing that would cling to him and leave nothing to the imagination anyway? Or show the dragon his naked glory without flinching.

There wasn’t anything that the dragon could really do to him, right? Levi really wanted to get out of his filthy clothing and more than likely those grass stains were never going to come out while he was wearing them. The need to clean overruled any anxiety that might come from being in the presence of a potentially pervy lizard. 

Shucking off his shirt, pants, and underwear the resulting feeling of a breeze, warmed by the steam of the apparent hot springs, was pleasant. Dipping his toes into the water was even more so as his shoulders sagged as tense muscles relaxed in the unfamiliar feeling of warm water. Bathing was something that Levi enjoyed, however, living in the slums clean water was in limited supply. If he had to choose between getting clean or avoid getting the runs from sewage, Levi had to pick the later. 

He waded out a little further until finding a submerged boulder to sit on where the water reached just below his shoulders. Then, Levi began scrubbing at his skin with his hands, nails leaving red lines like he was determined to remove any grime that had collected on him since the dawn of time. 

Something brushed against his back and startled Levi, head whipping to the side and fist raised, ready to punch the source in the face. Only to see nothing, at least until he looked down, a few sprigs of some plants drifted in the water behind him, steams freshly cut and leaking precious oils and liquid that had been the blood of the vegetation. 

A glance around revealed Eren wandering lazily around the edges of the grove, the dragon was acting like he was busying himself, but Levi saw the way one great eye was always watching him. Eren was trying and failing horribly at being discreet, obviously waiting to see what he would do with the apparent offering. 

Picking up some of the plants Levi gave them a sniff, eyes widening slightly as he recognized the smells. Mint and jasmine, they seemed to be growing wild around the pool. Squeezing the steam to prompt more of the oil to trickle out onto his hands, Levi rubbed the jasmine onto his skin, while the mint he used in his hair. It was weird to smell… good. 

Soap was expensive and hard to come by, when the crew did get their hands on it they had to use it sparingly. Levi had to admit that this was a nice perk, but not enough to make him stay as an obedient pet to Eren. His annoyed glare as the dragon trotted closer to the pool should have told Eren as much. 

The dragon only ‘grinned’ as he submerged himself in the apparently deep-ass end of the pool as only the top of Eren’s wings and head popped out of the water. The water immediately felt warmer the moment he entered the pool, the heat from his body rapidly spreading through the small waves that erupted with each twitch Eren made. Levi suspected that he would only be able to stay in the water for a few more minutes before having to flee or risk getting boiled alive. 

Now with a time limit, Levi moved back to the shore to grab his clothes, starting to wash and scrub them against the hot rocks. It was going to be less than enjoyable to try and wriggle his way back into the wet fabrics, but it wasn’t like he had a choice. 

Scowling as he focused on a certain stubborn stain, Levi didn’t notice the mounting wave rapidly approaching him from behind until it hit him. The force of it sent Levi summersaulting through the shallows with a garbled squawk before his head popped back up from the water. 

The rumbling and huffing breaths had Levi’s eyes zeroing in on the source, Eren. Of fucking course it was, they were the only two out here. The other’s weird ass way of laughing would have made Levi cuss him out if not for the fact that the dragon was currently standing on his back legs, the front ones curled to his chest as he balanced himself back with his tail against the bottom of the pool. 

“What are you doing?” Levi’s voice was cautious, unsure of what Eren was planning now. The answering laugh was Levi’s only warning before the dragon fell forward into the water. He didn’t even have time to scramble to his feet before Levi found himself being churned into the water once more. The sucking motion of the waves pulled his body closer to the source of the wave, Eren. 

Which meant he was being pulled into deeper water. 

Fuck.

A panicked breath of air was all Levi got to take before the natural weight of his body started to pull him under the surface. Levi didn’t know how to swim. Why the fuck would he have needed to while living in the city where the river that ran through it was barely knee high? His legs kicked out, hands clawed towards the surface where the sun was a wavering golden circle. But his body only continued to sink downwards. 

Lungs burning and vision swimming Levi knew that he had only been under the water for at most forty seconds, but his panicked struggling just blew through his supply of air all the faster. Gods, was this really how he was going to die? Drowning hadn’t been on the list of possibilities until a few goddamn minutes ago!

A rush of bubbles escaped his mouth, the stale air refusing to stay inside any longer and on instinct Levi gasped. Water rushed into both his nose and mouth as soon as the openings were given making him gag. 

Everything was starting to go dark and Levi cursed in his mind about how useless his so-called master was if he was going to let him perish this way. 

Just as that thought crawled sluggishly through his mind, Levi felt something collide against his chest. Then his body was moving, but his vision was too blurry to take in the cause. The shock and force of falling onto his back on something solid was enough to dislodge the water from his lungs, coughing up lukewarm water as he sucked in big gasps of sweet air. It took a few seconds, but the world was slowly coming back into focus for the second time that day. 

The first thing he noticed was a weird sound, it was like a mixture between a sharp chirp of a songbird and clicking. A sluggish turn of his head revealed that the source was Eren, the dragon’s eyes were narrowed as he constantly circled the human. The slight bobbing in Eren’s throat revealed that was where the chirping was originating, while the clicks were the anxious tapping of his claws against the ground and his jaw constantly opening then clacking shut.

“Eren…” Levi’s throat ached too much to give more than that, he also didn’t really have a plan on what he was going to say anyway. He just felt that he needed to say something before the dragon lost his shit. Then again if a dragon could look constipated, then that’s what Eren looked like. His tight constant circling reminding Levi of those ridiculous ‘potty dances’ that rich lords’ dogs did. 

Apparently, the single word was all that he needed as Eren froze in his pacing and moved his head to hover over the human’s prone body. Both were silent, simply staring at each other. 

Finally, the beast snorted, grumbling as his hot breath gusted over Levi, “What a useless treasure I have, drowns as easy as a rat.” 

“I’ll have you know, rats are excellent swimmers,” Levi rasped back, one side of his lips quirking as he knew from experience that ravenous rats would cross a narrow stream if it meant getting a chance for food or to bite some poor asshole who was sleeping on the ground. 

“It’s your fault I almost drowned anyway with your fat ass.” 

“Does near-death experiences act like a whetting stone to sharpen your tongue?” Eren asked, exasperated by how quickly Levi was to insult him. Maybe his assumption was true, as a thief Levi would have had plenty of close calls. After each one, the human’s mouth only growing fouler. Then again it was relieving to see that the other was feeling well enough to still be trying to pick a fight with him. 

When Levi hadn’t immediately come back to the surface after being struck by the wave, Eren hadn’t been concerned. He had thought that maybe the other was just refusing to appear as some childish tactic to protest his treatment. But as time passed, Eren realized that this was no joke. Diving his head under water it wasn’t hard to find the pale body that had almost drifted to the very bottom of the spring. He had dipped his head down under Levi’s body and lifted him out on top of it. 

While Levi had immediately started to cough up water as soon as he was put down, Eren was still uncertain of his survival. Humans were frustratingly fragile beings despite their annoyingly arrogant and persistent nature. He hadn’t even realized he had been making a distress call until the chirp was cut off by the sound of Levi’s voice. Yes, Eren had been worried. Levi was his treasure, under his care, and it had been Eren that had almost killed him by accident. 

He needed to be much more careful with the human or he would lose his one chance for moonstone once more. 

Still a pass deserved another and Eren dropped his head, which was just slightly smaller than the human’s entire body, on top of Levi with a smug smirk. He didn’t rest his full weight on him, he didn’t want to crush the other after such a close call with death. 

Levi groaned at the pressure, trying to weakly push and kick at the other’s huge head and squirm free. But a loud growl vibrating through the dragon into his own body put a stop to his attempts. He didn’t know what weird thing Eren was doing now, but it looked like the dragon wasn’t going to be moving any time soon and apparently Levi’s wasn’t going to be either. 

The thumping of Levi’s heart under his chin was reassuring to Eren and the physical contact helped further ease him, even if he had to be careful about not relaxing the muscles in his neck too much. At that moment, Eren made a decision, he’d take care of the human. Fucking coddle him whether he wanted it or not. Levi was far too beautiful a creature to have the hands of death steal him away. So many milky scars covered the pale expanse of skin had been revealed when Levi had shed his clothing and the sight had made fury flicker in Eren’s belly. Levi was still his pet, but Eren refused to be the reason for his leaving the world. 

Levi was his. 

The thought made Eren grin, gently he rubbed his chin and top of his neck against the chest, arms, legs, and head of the human. Spreading his scent all over Levi to act as a big ‘Keep Off’ sign that most creatures could pick up. 

Levi wasn’t having as nearly a nice time of it as warm smooth scales roamed over his body. While it didn’t feel bad per say, even when Eren would drag his scales against the natural grain onto his own skin. It was strange and incredibly smothering. His was still aching from the water being forced out of his lungs and the other’s skull was heavy... and he was still naked. Another thing was the vibrating and puttering sound escaping the dragon, prompting Levi to speak.

“I have a question.”

Getting a small hum in response, Levi continued as Eren drew his head back slightly to look at him.

“Are you an oversized lizard or a cat, ‘cause that fucking purring is making me feel like your trying to grind my bones gradually into dust.”

Eren made sure his lick across Levi’s face was extra slobbery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for everyone that has commented so far on this story, I hope that you continue to enjoy it. Comments really help me keep writing and stay out of any slumps, I love hearing about what you enjoyed and with the summer heat in Japan making me feel like I'm melting it's definitely appreciated. 
> 
> Poor Levi can't catch a break can he?


	4. All the Pretty Things

Levi sputtered as he brought a hand up to wipe the thick coating of dragon spit off his face. He wanted to wash it off, but returning to the water was not at all appealing after his near drowning. The dragon on top of him also prevented Levi from catching a break. Eren was still purring and rubbing his neck and the underside of his head against Levi’s body, much to his annoyance.

However, the dragon did seem to be more careful about it and the acts reminded Levi of an over affectionate house cat. Finally, Eren seemed satisfied with his smothering session and lifted himself off him.

Slowly Levi sat up, wincing as his chest still ached and his back was a colorful barrage of dark spots on his back from the abuse the canister part of the gear did to it the day before and Eren dropping him to help clear his lungs. Topaz colored orbs watched him as Levi gradually recovered and got his bearings. After casting a glance at the pool, Levi groaned as he realized something, “My clothes are gone.”

Probably sunken to the bottom of the hot spring and out of Levi’s reach forever.

Eren’s front legs bunched and then slackened in some bastardized version of a shrug. Speaking as he cupped one large paw around the human and started sliding Levi over the soft moss and moist stone closer to him. Which prompted Levi to stand shakily on his legs as he wanted to avoid his ass being turned green. “Not that much of a loss in my opinion, they were basically rags.”

“Fucking excuse you, they were not.” Levi hissed, forcing himself to take another step when he felt the curved edge of a claw tapping the back of his knee. While the clothes had a few holes, and weren’t of the finest quality, they were his. One of the few possessions that Levi could claim as his own, now they were gone along with the mess of belts that he needed if he ever got his hands back on his gear. The loss might seem petty compared to his freedom being taken from him, but Levi had slaved over the care of those garments over the years. One had to in order to make them last as long as possible.

Lost in thought, Levi didn’t realize where exactly his feet were taking him until he bumped into a scaly hide. Blinking as he realized he was faced with Eren’s front, Levi attempted to take a step back only to feel the large hand press him even closer into the source of heat. Two fingers rested on Levi’s shoulders and the rest of the digits curled around his chest. The dragon’s palm pressing against his ass and thighs. Practically cradled against Eren’s chest, Levi found himself lifted from the ground as Eren balanced back on his hind legs.

“I’ll give you better clothes, don’t worry your pretty little head about it so much.” Eren admonished, eyes rolling when he felt a kick from Levi for his comment. His wings fluttered, getting ready for takeoff.

“Wait, you can’t seriously plan on flying my ass naked over the entire forest.” Levi wasn’t shy, modesty wasn’t something that one could afford in the slums. However, baring it all to the world wasn’t something high on his to-do list. The rumbling laugh Levi got from Mr. Scaly wasn’t awe inspiring before the wings snapped down with force and lifted the pair up into the air.

Eren made sure to keep his hold tight, but not painful. He wasn’t about to drop Levi after just internally promising himself that he would protect and take better care of the beautiful creature. ‘Care’ was a word with the meaning being in the eye of the beholder as the dragon curled one wing to make his body spin through the air. The short, dull nails of the human slightly tickling him as they dug into his hide as Levi tensed further.

“Relax, it’s not like anyone is able to see you way up here, even if they did why should it matter?” Still Eren found himself frowning at the idea of any other creature seeing the entirety of his pet. At least… not without Eren’s permission to do so.

No, that wouldn’t do at all the dragon decided.

Any comeback that Levi was going to give was drowned out by the sound of the wind whizzing by their ears as Eren kicked up the pace of his flying. He wanted to get his human bundled up back where he belonged. But the higher they flew, the more Eren noticed Levi shivering. The air temperature was turning frigid and Levi found himself leaning into the source of heat the dragon provided just to maintain his ability to feel his fingers and toes.

The world grew dark as Eren slid into yet another tunnel that led back into the very depths of the mountain. There were multiple tunnels that the dragon had carefully carved into the rock over the centuries, but almost all of the entryways were far above the ground level of Eren’s den. All of them out of reach to Levi whom was a creature without wings or claws to aid him in scaling the walls. 

Slinking through the rocky terrain on three legs, Eren proved that he could do it as well as he could with four. Not once did Levi feel himself get scraped and knocked against the unforgiving stone, something he was grateful for. Thankfully the unlikely pair soon breached the main cavern causing Levi let out a breath of relief. Goddesses, it was so much warmer in here, though the chill seemed to have settled into his bones as his muscles continued to twitch when Eren quickly leaped to land on the floor. The collections rattled, but none of the precarious looking piles of expensive shit fell.

One of such hoards, Levi was dropped on top of, not hard mind you, but still enough to make him grunt as he sat up. Freezing as the mountain of treasure shifted under him, one wrong move and Levi would find himself either rolling off the pile or having it collapse beneath him. The tip of the pile reached five meters off the ground, any fall would not be pleasant in the least bit and Levi wasn’t sure how much more his battered body could take.

Nah, Levi wouldn’t mind his ass staying where it was at the moment, even if said ass was getting pinched between golden coins. If he did fall, Levi suspected that he might find himself shitting out gold and jewels for a week straight.

His lips quirked slightly at the thought. Still he attention was caught by the sound of Eren huffing as the dragon searched through one of the many hoards. Claws working surprisingly delicately as he lifted things out of another nearby pile and set items to the side as he searched for something. Levi seemed to have spoken too soon as the next moment the mass of treasure collapsed onto of the dragon’s head and buried it. Both froze before Levi couldn’t help but snicker at Eren’s misfortune. 

Served him right.

Apparently Eren heard him as his tail swished back and forth in agitation. Then he seemed to decide to make the best of the situation as the pile twitched from time to time as he continued his search. The constant movement making pellets of polished stones and coins tinkle down to the cave floor in a metallic symphony.

Eventually, the dragon’s head popped back up from the pile, a large chest held inside of his maw and a mixture of pretty odds and ends sitting on top of his head. Hearing a snort from Levi, Eren tilted his head before blinking as a bit of the mess fell from his snout before shaking his head to rid himself of the rest of it.

The dragon looked more like a dog as he shook his head free before the wiggles travelled all the way down his body and eventually to the very tip of his tail. Though Fido wasn’t exactly a good dragon name in Levi’s opinion as he watched Eren stalk closer to his stack and dropped the chest at the base of it. Then Eren turned right back around and started to go through more piles, practically trotting with his head high and an eager gleam in his eyes.

Levi didn’t like that look, after all, each time Eren got it usually some kind of misfortune would fall on Levi’s head. The list was long enough already with being knocked unconscious, spun inside of a cage at breakneck speeds, and then almost drowning!

“Hey, brat, what are you even looking for?” Levi finally called down, wanting to get a hint so he could prepare himself for whatever trauma was heading his way.

The bump of the dragon’s leg against the pile Levi was sitting on was definitely on purpose as the treasure rocked underneath him and made him curse as he clung to the top of it. Fuck, it made his heart hop into his throat before settling back down into his chest as the hoard stopped its shaking and rattling. However, Levi’s resolve wasn’t shaken. He’d already almost died once today, Eren would be hard pressed to do something worse to him than that.

Levi knew that he was dancing on a razor’s edge, but it was an edge nonetheless. He wasn’t going to completely roll over for anyone, man-eating beast, king, or otherwise. He would bite back, even if he had to cling to a lifeline that would slice into his fingers.

Also, Levi decided that brat was his favorite insult for the dragon. While ancient, Eren’s actions were surprisingly petty and his attention shortsighted as it seemed that he didn’t think of the consequences of his actions. As a top predator Eren was probably unused to having any repercussions to begin with.

Then again, Levi noticed that a coil of Eren’s tail had stayed wrapped around the base of the hoard until it had stopped its rocking. The muscles of the appendage looking ready to spring into action at any moment if the treasure did decide to move in a way Eren didn’t want it to. Maybe Eren had learned from his mistake.

Soon there was a large pile of chests at the bottom of Levi’s mound and Eren was looking rather proud of himself as he rearranged them into a circle. That done he turned his head expectantly towards Levi.

When vertical pupils only continued to watch him, Levi sighed as he realized that Eren was waiting for him to crawl down the horde himself. He was still stark naked and he guessed that his descent would be far from graceful.

Levi had a tough decision to make, demean himself willingly by crawling down the pile or get humiliated by whatever method that Eren chose to use to pluck him off his perch? Either way, it was a no win situation and he’d rather face an annoyed dragon than get a candlestick up his ass if he fell wrong. He grimaced at the mental imagery that his mind conjured up to illustrate such an event. Nope, he was staying where he was.

The two continued to have a silent staring contest before Eren puffed out a ball that was the mixture of steam and smoke as his tail moved to wrap around Levi. Lifting him delicately into the air before setting him on his feet, though not before Eren complained that he even had to do so, “What a worthless bird I have, can’t even get down from his perch.”

“I didn’t put myself there,” Levi countered, thankful when his feet touched down before wincing as he almost immediately lost his footing on the loose coins scattered over the floor. His ass was going to be black and blue one way or another it seemed. “Would it fucking kill you clean up this shit?”

Yes, Levi was bitter about the apparent disregard that Eren had towards the things that he would have risked his life hundreds of times over to steal. He was a touch more than a little salty about it.

“Afraid you might get a second crack in your porcelain ass if you trip or something?” Eren quipped back as he rolled his eyes, using his tail to flick open several of the chests revealing mounds of silken fabrics and furs. Glancing from the tiny chests to the equally small human, he frowned softly. While Eren’s size allowed him to easily bully his pet and assert their roles, it didn’t really assist him in doing anything that required any degree of delicacy. Which he should be using a little bit of when he was playing with Levi. While the human was lean with a good degree of muscle, it only took one squeeze of Eren’s tail or a misstep to crush him.

While Levi’s iron will might not easily break, his spine had its limits.

Well, there was no helping it Eren decided as he started to concentrate, eyes closing with effort as he felt his muscles squeezing and stretching against each other as they shifted. Bones grinding and snapping audibly, but it wasn’t a painful process as he sensed the world gradually grow bigger around him. When the dragon turned his head to look back towards Levi he saw the raven standing there, mouth hanging open in shock.

Yup, the king should just hire Levi to be the new dragon historian because Levi could rewrite it all. Several tomes would be needed as his writing was filled with as much vulgarity as his spoken words. Though Levi might find himself hung before being added to the king’s court for a multitude of reasons from being a criminal to the nobility disbelieving that he could write because of his social station to the idea that he survived a meeting with a dragon.

Apparently, dragons could fucking change their size at will. As Eren now stood as tall as a horse, his shoulders now standing only a head and a half taller than Levi himself. Still scaly, but honestly Eren was far less terrifying in this form. The way the dragon moved was still as cocky as ever as he returned to the chests and started to rifle through them. Trying to look through his stores to find what would be perfect to dress his pet in.

Levi watched, trying to bury his sense of awe under a façade of annoyance as he watched the dragon pulling out one grandiose outfit after another. The styles were ones that were familiar to Levi, richly embezzled tailcoats, vests, undershirts, and dresses seemed to call one chest home. The next seemed to hold the fashion of elves, with multiple silky layers and pelts that appeared both elegant and cumbersome to move in. It would be wrong to assume such, as a startled elf would easily keep pace with a galloping horse, no matter how bogged down they looked.

Chest after chest, all packed full of clothing. Some of the pieces would be worth Levi’s weight in gold as finely braided silken threads had no doubt been painstakingly placed by some poor, probably underpaid, seamstress. Stunning images coiled across the backs, sleeves, and other portions of the fabrics to add embellishment and another whiff of pompousness.

Levi didn’t have anything to do with himself and when he went to look through one of the chests that Eren had already looked through he got a tail cracking against the floor by his feet like a whip. Message fucking received as Levi stepped back to his spot and scowled at the dragon who wasn’t even facing him.

Having Levi stand around naked and bored was just another item on Eren’s apparent agenda and Levi turned his attention back to the pile had been be sitting on. Picking up a few coins and bringing them closer to his eyes to take in the fine details etched into it to make a stoic face of a woman that Levi didn’t recognize. This coin either didn’t come to anywhere close by or it was far too old to even be in circulation. But Levi doubted the age theory at how shiny and clean the small bit was. Even coins locked away in a chest got dark and corroded slightly with age.

Right, Eren could go wherever the fuck he wanted with those big ass wings of his and with dragons being secretive beings when there were no threats to their territories around, Eren could probably disappear from his mountain for decades without humans noticing anything amiss.

Catching sight of something garishly yellow from the corner of his eyes, Levi turned to see the dragon staring at mass of cloth that was too ugly and gaudy to be called anything close to clothing. Eren seemed to be of the same mindset as the skin about his teeth tightened to reveal even more of his deadly choppers and gums in an exasperated version of his permanent sneer. He had expected the dragon to just torch the offensive thing, but he only shoved it back into the chest and moved on to the next one.

“Why the hell do you have all of this clothing anyway?” Levi finally asked, tired of the silence that existed under the contemplative hums that Eren gave as he looked through the fabrics.

“Maybe I like the feel of them, or perhaps I like to play with them,” The way that Eren said the second part was sinister as he turned his head, at last, to leer at the naked raven behind him.

Levi refused to be cowed though, despite the shiver that crawled up his spine. He crossed his arms over his chest, a move that helped to make him feel a bit more secure as he drawled. “Seeing as there are no corpses laying around that are primped and ready for a fancy tea party, I doubt that.”

Imagining Eren turning himself even smaller to fit himself into the clothing and not piercing through delicate silks with the spines on his back also didn’t seem that likely, though it was a funny image to ponder. Particularly the image of the other’s long corkscrew horns getting stuck in a shirt or his tail ripping a hole through the ass of the pants made him smirk.

“Corpses would stink and they turn so ugly as they begin to rot.” Eren pointed out as he started to set some clothing to the side, his body still blocking Levi from seeing exactly what they were. Levi didn’t seem to be able to counter that point, so Eren continued a deep rumble, “Anyway, I have a convenient living doll now, don’t I?”

Levi couldn’t help the twitch of his brow as he dug his nails into his palms, trying to calm himself by counting backwards from fifteen like he usually did when he felt close to snapping in a delicate situation. When the pair of them slipped into banter so easily, Levi almost forgot the situation he was in. But then Eren would open that damned mouth of his to point out their difference in power. Levi wasn’t used to be acting as a puppet, but now his strings were held tightly in wicked claws that made him dance in exchange for his life and relative peace. His sanity wasn’t one of the stipulations obviously.

“They’re offerings or prizes.”

The words brought Levi out of his silent counting, having only just reached seven when the dragon spoke up. Giving a questioning hum Levi waited for Eren to explain further as the predator seemed to finally be content with the pile of fabrics by his feet as his tail move to shut all of the other chests.

“The clans that live in my domain do not do so for free.” Eren continued as he motioned Levi closer with a small tilt of his head. “A portion of my hoard is made of things given to me in exchange for my protection and tolerance of their presence. They give me anything that they see as having equal value to my service.”

So that ugly piece of clothing, it probably meant the world to some creature and that was the reason why Eren didn’t just throw it out. No one would probably know if Eren kept it or not, but Eren was surprisingly sentimental enough to keep it. Then again it might not be out of respect to the giver that the dragon kept it. It could be that Eren was just that possessive that as soon as something was considered his, he didn’t let it go.

Or maybe it could be a mixture of the two. Levi hadn’t even known Eren for a day, including their initial meeting.

Prizes… Levi tried not to grimace as he knew from both old and recent stories that Eren did in fact steal from, eat, and kill humans. Eren had been about to kill him last night and it was only Levi’s sarcastic wit that saved him by the skin of his teeth. What if he hadn’t gotten those words out? Those sharp teeth probably would have removed his head from his torso.

Levi thought about saying something pompous, like ‘I find your propensity toward accumulating monetary wealth through violent means of highly dubious sensibility.’. But what right did Levi, a thief, have to utter such words?

After all, Levi had done the same back in the city. On the constant hunt for pretty, valuable things no matter the cost or bloodshed they required. There was one big difference between the two though, it was that Levi did it for survival. Eren on the other claw, was a being of greed. The dragon didn’t need to steal these riches, they wouldn’t feed Eren like they would Levi and his crew.

For that… Levi found himself hating the creature. It was that wastefulness that was more of a sin in Levi’s mind than his taken freedom.

Eren didn’t know the troublous thoughts that were going through his pet’s mind as he decided on the outfit that he thought would look just ravishing on Levi. Taking the silks in his front claws he clambered over on his back feet to stand before the human. While Eren enjoyed the sight of Levi naked, more so than the human probably realized, or else Levi would be guarding his modesty from his leering gaze. Honestly, Eren so wanted to use the human in such a way. But for now, he held himself back. 

After what occurred earlier he felt that he owed this small mercy to Levi.

No, Levi probably assumed that he was safe from such a thing considering their difference in size and species. For now, Eren was able to enjoy the human’s unique beauty unhindered. Levi was definitely not a delicate princess that many humans assumed to be a dragon’s favorite target. 

No, this young man was sharp and had the ability to injure creatures beyond humans.

Not Eren, of course, but from what he had witnessed the other day, Eren didn’t doubt that Levi would give a vampire or werewolf a run for their money if the human was given the right tools.

While Levi was revealed to be far paler than he first appeared now that years’ worth of grime had been washed away, the scars that littered Levi’s body were even more so. Some of the scars were thin white lines that would probably escape the notice of a less observant creature, while others were large and jagged stating that it had once been a devastating wound. Many of them looked like they could have been enough to steal away the life of such a frail species. Yet, here Levi remained. Not exactly in pristine condition, but still existing instead of rotting in the ground or as scattered ashes.

No more harm would come to Levi from filthy human hands. Eventually, Levi would see that his new life was far better than that he had in the past. As long as he fulfilled Eren’s desires and followed his rules that is.

Dropping the pile of clothing in front of Levi’s feet Eren stared at him expectantly. Personally, Eren thought he had outdone himself with his selection. Just picking out outfits for him to dress the human in would provide Eren with plenty of future entertainment.

Picking up the pieces of fabric, Levi’s eye twitched, getting a chuckle from Eren.

“How are these considered clothes when they hardly cover anything?” Levi growled out as his eyes raked over the shimmering fabric. While it felt nice running through his fingers and was probably made of a material as rare as Isabel admitting she was wrong, it left quite a bit to be desired in terms of actual coverage.

It was a dark midnight blue in color, the threads catching the torchlights from time to time and reminding Levi of what the night sky looked like when being propelled by his maneuver gear. The stars that cheerfully twinkling in the cold heavens would become nothing but glints of silver from the corner of the eye before they disappeared when the lines pulled Levi in a different direction. The stars seemed to be a constant source of mockery towards humanity. Millions of glittering jewels that could fill your purse, but were just out of reach.

A cruel, but beautiful scene that hovered over the poor masses every night, only to be chased away in the morning. Returning like a persistent biting fly in the evening. 

Another aspect of the clothing was that most of it was sheer, easily allowing his skin to be seen. There were pants, vest, and another scrap of fabric that he didn’t know what the purpose of it was for. Still Levi had never seen anything like these pieces before. The pants hung low on his hips and hugged the skin there tightly before the pants ballooned outwards before growing tight around Levi’s ankles. All of this fabric was transparent, but underneath that was a pair of shorts that covered his thighs in a fabric that was blessedly thicker. 

The thicker fabric also made up a vest that could be fastened with silver buttons shaped like the phases of the moon imbedded with sparkling mother of pearl. Sleeves made from the sheer fabric stemmed out of the top, long, flowing and growing increasingly wider the closer it came to the wrist. However, the vest was short, only covering his ribs and leaving his stomach exposed.

An assortment of jewels were sewn into the edges of the clothes, creating twisting delicate patterns. Perhaps the designs were supposed to further echo the twinkling light show in the night sky. The pretty gems didn’t make the clothing heavy thankfully, and no matter how Levi moved the little stones never pinched his skin or dug into him uncomfortably. While the human might feel like he was drowning in the mass of fabric, the dragon only purred his obvious approval of the attire.

Still in Eren’s mind there was something missing. His little doll wasn’t complete yet. Jaws clicked as he realized what it was.

“Don’t do anything foolish,” was the final warning that Eren gave before he dashed off, rounding about a pile of treasure so fast that he skidded slightly. Clawed feet screeching and clacking against the floor as he tried to keep his balance before disappearing from sight.

“Told you that you should clean all this shit up.” Levi muttered under his breath, jumping slightly as a voice thundered out to echo back to him, “I heard that, blackbird.”

Fuck, seemed that super hearing needed to be added to the list. Despite his decrease in size it seemed that it didn’t affect the lung capacity of the glorified lizard. Sighing softly, Levi noticed a throne like chair sitting nearby, the cushion of which was made of a soft dark green velvet. Collapsing onto it, he soon groaned as he realized he was sitting on top of one of the long flowing sleeves, shifting to one side to pull it out resulted in him then sitting on the other. Huffing, he struggled with adjusting the useless lengths of fabric out of the way so he could relax. Why the hell was such a useless thing designed?! 

If he ever met the creator Levi would be sure to shove a handful of sewing needles down their throat before sewing their no doubt laughing mouth shut. 

Finally settling into the throne with his knees pulled up onto the large piece of furniture with him. He was left with his thoughts and honestly he was surprised that the dragon had left him alone at all. His bright eyes flickered to the large pile of weapons. It would be so easy for him to dash for one of those gleaming blades, but he doubted that it would work against the beast. If it didn’t do the previous owners any good, what could Levi do with it while he was sore as all hell and stumbling around in this ridiculous outfit? 

He was only left to wait for a little bit before Eren came trotting back to him, the jangling of metal clinking together accompanying him. The dragon paused at the sight of the human relaxing in the large throne, blinking what appeared to be a clear third and second eyelid as the clear films moved and slid over each other before settling again. Still Eren seemed more amused than anything as he cooed while coming closer. 

“My, seems you’re making yourself at home, aren’t you, pet?”

“I didn’t want to just stand around and get sore feet while you do who knows what. Aren’t I supposed to be spoiled?” Levi’s voice was sarcastic, but the dragon seemed to only swoon, long neck weaving as Eren bumped his skull into the human’s chest. Thankfully, the other seemed to be well aware of his horns as he made sure not to knock them against the human’s face.

Purrs rumbled out of the dragon and pressed into Levi’s own form as the dragon’s hot breath washed over his chest and lap, “Oh, I could give you the world, if only you would behave and do as I say. But I don’t think you will for a long, long time. You’re a proud, insolent little creature, but you’re mine. Are you not, Levi?”

Silence answered Eren’s prodding, but it seemed that he wasn’t surprised by Levi’s refusal. 

“I want to complete your ensemble. But I suppose it requires a more special touch.” Eren mused, sighing loudly as he knew that Levi would not know how to put most of the trinkets on and clumsy claws were more apt to hurt than gently drape. 

There was no helping it, huffing softly Eren drew back from his little blackbird once more. Hide shivering and twitching as he turned himself into something more appropriate for the task. It seemed that he would reveal one more trick hiding under his scales. No doubt, he would have to reinforce his power and command over the human if he thought that this form was any weaker than the other. 

Levi stared…. And stared, as he slowly crossed his arms in front of his chest, one hand moved to discretely pinch himself. Teeth gritting with pain as he confirmed that yes, this wasn’t some fucked up dream he was having while either still locked up inside of the cage or back in the uncomfortable as fuck cot back in the hideout. 

Eren had transformed himself into something far more different than Levi had thought possible, changing his size was one thing. Becoming large or small, that was a reasonable power that some other supernatural creatures had. It wasn’t so special.

However this, this made Levi feel like the cogs in his brain were stalling and clunking unnaturally with the impossibility that he was being forced to process. 

There was a man in front of him, or at least something that appeared to be partly human. It was the dragon, though Levi might not have believed it if he hadn’t seen Eren change before his very eyes. If Levi had met this being in any other situation, he would not have thought that this was a fire breathing lizard in disguise despite the fact that there were certain features that had remained from Eren’s ‘original’ form or had been morphed to rebel against the normal standards of humanity…. Or any other creature that Levi had ever heard of. 

Still even in this new form, Eren seemed to enjoy the fact that he could still tower over the little human. The dragon turned humanoid, stood over a head and a half over his small pet, probably confident in his height of over a hundred and eighty centimeters tall. A rich tan painted Eren’s skin a light bronze and short, wispy chocolate brown locks called the other’s head home. His ears were pointed and decorated with golden hoops and jeweled studs. A smaller version of his horns stayed on Eren’s head, popping out of his hair seamlessly and having shrunken down to be around twenty-three centimeters in height.

Instead of familiar topaz colored eyes, Eren’s eyes had changed to the shades of his scales, slit pupils sat in irises that appeared either blue or green in the flickering light of the torches. But the other color of treasure didn’t disappear completely. Instead there was a small ring of topaz hugging the pupils. At the corners of his eyes, was a speckling of tiny scales that glinted constantly, reflecting off of all the shiny metal around them.

The dragon man was lean, but muscular his frame covered in a green brocade vest lined in golden silk, while his legs were covered in long, slightly puffy dark pants. He was barefoot and the reason why was obvious as claws called both Eren’s fingers and toes home. Golden bangles decorated the wrists and arms of the young man. Eren appearing to be perhaps only five or six years older than Levi himself. 

Eren’s tail also remained, curling into view as it lifted closer to the dragon’s chest to drop what was coiled inside of it in waiting hands with a jangle of metal clanking together. 

With sweeping confidence, Eren stepped closer to his pet, voice cheerful as he brought a hand to cradle one of Levi’s cheeks, “If you don’t close your beak, something might fall into it, precious.” 

The words and the touch seemed to break Levi out of his little trance, head jerking, but finding that Eren’s grip tightened to keep him in place, claws scraping lightly against skin in warning. It would be so easy for them to shred his flesh into ribbons, but Eren’s seemed to have a mastery of the deadly little tools knowing exactly how much pressure he could apply to the fair skin. 

Levi stilled and Eren let out a pleased puff from his lips, yet another trait that transferred over from his larger form. 

“Stay still now, I want to add the finishing touches to my pretty doll.”

“Just hurry it up, being good at playing dress up isn’t exactly on my resume.” Levi sassed back, internally flinching back as Eren brought his face closer to his own since the human couldn’t physically move in the reptile’s hold. 

“Stay your tongue, I’ll be right annoyed if you ruin my work with your twittering. If I need to, I could charm you again until I’m finished doing what I wish with you.” The tone was warning, but at the same time teasing. The sinister idea of the dragon doing whatever he wished to Levi now that he knew that he had this new form… It was actually a little more terrifying he found and Levi felt his teeth shutting with an audible click.

Eren grinned, showing off over-sized canines that looked wicked sharp.

The first thing that came was thick bracelets of silver that encircled each of Levi’s wrists, perhaps it was supposed to be fashionable, but to the thief they felt uncomfortably familiar to what shackles did despite being more flexible as they were made up of many tiny interlocking lengths. A short ‘necklace’ of the same style was wrapped around his throat.

Rings embedded with pearls, sapphires, and diamonds were slipped delicately onto a few of Levi’s fingers, Eren giving a few kisses over the pale digits and jewelry before releasing the hands back to the human. Wearing the rings was a strange, sitting snugly on his fingers, but at the same time pressing against the skin of the fingers around them. It was an unfamiliar sensation and more than likely he wouldn’t even notice the feeling in a few minutes.

Eren’s warm fingers moved over the lobes of his pet’s ears, frowning softly as he did so desire to decorate them with more jewels. However, he did not trust himself to do it, he would have to summon one of his subjects to do it soon. 

Instead he moved onto the next piece of jewelry, a silver circlet, the thin, multiple strands of silver twisted themselves into delicate, swirling patterns that had the ends ending in a polished sapphires or pearls. The front of the circlet sat in the middle of Levi’s forehead, partially hidden from view by his bangs. The center of it dipping into a triangular shape with a large dark sapphire sitting in the center of it. 

The dark blue of a gems contrasted with the lighter, more grey shade that rested in Levi’s eyes. Oh, Eren wondered how lucky he had been to find an odd living sample of moonstone to add to his collection.

“You look beautiful, like a prince I’ve stolen from the kingdom of the moon.” Eren praised, taking hold of one of Levi’s wrists and tugging him back onto his feet to follow him. Leading the human to one full length mirror propped up against a nearby hoard. 

Levi blinked, barely recognizing himself for a multitude of reasons, his skin looked far paler not just because it was clean, but from the dark clothing draped over him. The clothing hugged him, skin appearing and disappearing from sight depending on how he shifted. No, he couldn’t really disagree with the dragon despite the fact that he was not much for narcissism. 

Still, the jewelry and clothing, while they made him appear elegant and softened his features, Levi didn’t think that he looked delicate. Through the sheer material one could still see the muscles and scars that covered the human’s body. 

No, Levi was more like a warrior prince rather than one that sat on his ass all day being pampered. 

Arms encircling his waist pulled Levi out of his thoughts, tensing as he watched Eren’s face peeking out from behind his head in the reflection of the mirror. 

“Perfect, wouldn’t you say?”

“It’s just clothing. It doesn’t change the fact that I’m a thief sprouted from the skid marks of society.” Levi answered, though he didn’t try to move away, not seeing a point when both of them were wearing deceptive costumes. Levi dressed like royalty, while the dragon was hiding in human skin. It was ill fitting on Eren obviously, with the tail, horns, and other little odds and ends popping out to reveal the truth.

“You just can’t take a compliment can you?”

“Not when it’s something that would make me admit that I’m only a piece of property to a creature that is an embodiment of heartburn.” Levi quipped back, watching the way that the tanned fingers, palms, and wrists moved to caress the skin of his stomach. A shiver rolled up his spine and a chuckle rumbled into his ear as Eren obviously felt the small tremble. 

Levi wasn’t one for being touched, but now that Eren was in this smaller form, it was like the dragon couldn’t get enough contact with his still shorter pet. 

“Your mouth never ceases to surprise me. If I wasn’t so sure that I could put it to better use I would stitch it closed with silver thread.” Eren murmured back, tongue peeking out the swipe up one side of the raven’s neck. For a moment, the dragon closed his eyes, basking in the taste that danced across his tastebuds. Levi was simply delectable, far better than any human that Eren had dined upon. But it would be such a waste and Levi was far more interesting alive than as a passing meal.

Still the taste, it was different and a purr rumbled out of his throat as he lapped over pale skin once more, feeling Levi’s rapid pulse pounding back against his tongue. Levi made a disgusted noise and squirmed, but there wasn’t much force behind it. A wise move when those deadly teeth were so close to his neck, Levi was hoping not to do anything that would make himself appear more like prey than he already was in the beast’s eyes. 

It was Levi’s stomach that growled though and not the dragon’s, Eren drawing away with a frown and narrowed eyes like he was confused by the sound for a short moment before a look of realization crossed his face. Right, he did need to feed his pet, Levi wasn’t some plant that survived off of sunlight and water. Though Levi probably would turn any water as salty as the ocean, maybe the hot springs were now salt baths Eren mused to himself in amusement.

“You are hungry, I guess I’ll need to go hunting after I run out to do an errand. You can take a nap in the meantime.” 

If that wasn’t a dismissal, Levi didn’t know what was as the dragon released him and waved him towards the cage. 

Levi grimaced as he realized that Eren was treating him like a dog, expecting him to return to his kennel without a fuss now that he was done playing with him. He was tempted to dig his heels in and refuse to be caged up once more. However, in all honesty, the idea of putting a physical barrier, as ineffective as it might be compared to a dragon’s strength, between himself and Eren was a welcomed idea. The other’s proud posturing like a rooster about a hen house was also annoying him.

With a snap of Eren’s fingers the chain holding the cage up lowered to hang only a meter from the ground. Easily Levi lifted himself up into the golden prison, slamming the door shut behind himself as he stared boredly at the surprised expression on the dragon man’s face. Eren probably didn’t expect him to go so willingly. But Levi was fucking exhausted and a power nap to escape the confusing bullshit his life had become sounded so fucking nice. 

Taking a key from a golden chain around his neck, Eren locked the cage before stepping back, with a crackling of bones Levi watched as human skin gave way to scales once more. Eren returning to his original giant ass size, he sent one last look towards his pet before crawling up the walls and out of sight. 

Sighing Levi flopped back against the cushions, wincing as soon as he did as he had to adjust to find a place where his bruises weren’t being pressed into. Even the soft cushions were too much on his overly sensitive muscles and skin. He hadn’t realized how tired he was, but within minutes, he was pulled gently into the arms of sleep. 

Unaware of how long he had been asleep for, he was awoken by the sound of coins sliding over each other and the clicks of claws delicately moving across the floor. Obviously whatever the cause was, it was trying to be quiet. Sleepily through a crack in his eyelids, Levi watched blurrily as Eren, still in his largest form, moved about the hoards. Something was hanging out of the dragon’s maw and after flicking a random chest open with his tail, Eren dropped his load into it. 

A mess of brown and white, Levi realized dully what it was. His old clothes, the shirt, pants, and belts, Eren had gone out of his way to collect them and bring them back to his home. 

Maybe… Eren had taken Levi’s feelings over the loss of his possessions to heart.

Or maybe Levi was reading too much into the emotions of a beast.

Whatever the case, he couldn’t keep his eyes open much longer. The last sight before being pulled back into sleep, being the bluish green shiny scales shifting as Eren climbed back up the walls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for such a long wait, I've been super busy and fighting a writer's block lately. I hope you have enjoyed this update, if you did please comment, it really does help keep my motivated to write.


	5. Food for Thought

The sharp twang of smoke wrenched Levi out of his peaceful slumber, dread rising within him like a wave as his mind whirled with the possibilities of what the cause might be. Had a fire broken out in the district? The area that his group’s base was stationed in was obviously in the poor district meaning that most of the old, drafty houses were waiting tinder boxes of creaking, dry wood. One stray match and three blocks could be destroyed in mere minutes. It had happened before and Levi had been more than thankful that the blaze had stopped just a few houses short of their own. 

  
The next option was that the military police had found their hideout and were trying to either smoke them out to be gunned down the moment they stepped outside. Or the pigs were just hoping that the flames would swallow up the pain in their sides permanently, the dozens of laboring poor were a drop in the bucket to most of the affluent. A little commemoration ceremony and in a few weeks all would be forgotten and forgiven. 

  
Rolling himself over, he attempted to get to his feet, mouth opening to call out for Farlan and Isabel before the world seemed to tilt out from under him. That alone was something that he could have recovered from, but then his foot slid on something silky.

  
Balance lost, Levi was pitched to one side, his back colliding with something solid and his air was knocked out of him. 

  
Then there was hot air rushing across his back and a weird sound rumbled from behind him. Thinking that the cause was the flames and the building threatening to collapse, Levi stumbled back up. A few steps and his hands wrapped around golden bars on the other side of the swinging… 

Cage.

  
The memories slowly came back to Levi as he stared at the huge reptilian face sitting on the other side of the bars that Levi had first crashed against. Two shimmering topaz colored eyes stared at Levi, alarm obvious with how some of the scales around the orbs had been pulled further back revealing a white edge around the sockets that were usually hidden. The noise that Levi had heard was air being released out of the dragon’s nostrils in short puffs, making a bizarre chuffing sound. 

  
The two stared at each other for a few moments before Eren finally murmured as he pulled his head a little further away from the cage, giving Levi a small sense of space. It was a meaningless gesture since Eren could far too easily crush the prison. But Eren could hear how the other’s heartbeat was slowly dropping down to a far more normal pace once more. 

  
“Are you always so flighty when you wake up?” 

 

“Are you always so gruesome toothsome?” Levi countered as he started to relax, making sure that he lowered himself slowly back to the floor of the cage instead of giving into his weak knees and possibly giving his captor any sense of satisfaction or victory.

  
This was, what, the third time he had woken up to the fright of seeing the dragon looming close by? One couldn’t really blame Levi for the fact that his heart kept giving false starts like a malfunctioning gas canister on his gear. This was still only the first day that that the pair had been together. At least, Levi suspected that it was still day, but without any natural light in the cavern he couldn’t be sure. 

  
Eren thankfully let Levi be for a few more moments, giving him a chance to relax before the he spontaneously combusted without any fire actually being involved. Once he was sure, Eren unlocked the door to the cage once more. The prison was still low to the ground, so it would be easy for the human to leap down if he wished. 

  
Deciding it was best to examine the situation before jumping into anything, Levi settled himself to sit at the edge of the opening, legs hanging outside of it as he battled with the annoying sleeves of the still unfamiliar outfit he had been stuffed in to.

  
Eren drew himself away, moving his huge body to reveal what had been the cause of Levi’s alarm in the first place. It looked to be a charred-up hunk of blackness on the cavern floor. There was even smoke still drifting up from burnt… whatever it was. 

  
“What the fuck was that?” Levi finally asked, head cocking to the side slightly as he watched Eren shifting on his paws like he was nervous. 

  
“It  _ is _ your dinner.” 

  
“Yeah, don’t know if you knew this beforehand, but humans can’t exactly ingest charcoal.”

  
“It’s just a little burnt!”

  
“It looks like you tried to flambee it in hell and then forgot about it for a century or two.”

  
“You haven’t even tried it yet!” 

  
It was a weak protest from Eren as he curled his long neck inward, tucking his head to his chest in a way that strangely reminded Levi of a pouting child. Too bad the effect was lost for the fact that this WASN’T a child, but an overgrown lizard with possessive issues. Honestly, Levi was surprised that he could read the other's body language at all, after all, in the city he hadn't had much contact with reptiles. Too many cats and rats about that would eat lizards, while snakes were as good as Levi's crew at staying hidden for the sake of their continued survival.

  
“I’m getting heartburn just looking at it, so I’ll pass.” 

  
Eren growled and grumbled to himself, practically throwing a fit as he trotted off to another end of the cavern. Perhaps to literally blow off steam at his pet’s firm refusal to even try his attempt at _cooking_. Levi decided to wait, not wanting to risk igniting the dragon’s temper if he left his cage while he wasn’t around.  

  
Examining at a distance the black puck of what Levi suspected to have once been meat, Levi wondered if he would truly have to eat it if Eren refused to give him anything else. 

In reality, Levi had probably eaten worse. Living in the slums when he was a child and not having his pick-pocketing skills mastered yet left him rooting around in dumpsters for any scraps that were not overly rotten. While he was grateful for finally being taken in by that asshole of a man, Levi had learned all too well on his own that he should always have a backup plan and take any opportunity to eat. 

  
Maybe there was a sliver of an edible bit buried under that black crust. 

  
The click of claws gathered Levi’s attention once more, watching as Eren reappeared with what appeared to be an entire deer’s leg in his jaws. His teeth latched just before the huff as to thankfully not sully any of the meat. With a huff he dropped it in front of Levi’s cage and stepped back. 

  
Taking that as his cue, Levi slid himself out of the cage, landing on his feet and internally grateful for the fact that he was back on a stable surface. Eren hovered nearby, for the moment just watching. 

  
“I can’t eat it raw, lizard brain. I can’t do one or the other, I need something between so fresh from the forest you can still smell the shit it just passed upon seeing your ugly mug and charred to the state of it looking like it came out of your asshole.” Levi quipped, leaning down to examine the piece of meat. In reality this was the most meat he had ever been offered in his entire life and it was difficult for him to keep himself from drooling at the idea of actually sinking his teeth into it once it was cooked. 

  
He didn’t know what dragon shit looked like and, really, he didn’t want to.

  
Eren growled softly and his tail snapped out, smacking into an old wooden stool that had been sticking out of one of the hoards. The serpentine appendage picking up the pieces and then dropped them into a pile in front the human. There was a bulge moving up the long neck before a burst of fire escaped his mouth and instantly caught the wood. That was fine, it was normal for dragons to breathe fire. No big deal. Levi didn’t remember ever hearing about one that shot out green flames though and the fire mostly stayed that strange color, but at the area of flame closest to the kindling was a light blue. 

  
It didn’t smell any different from normal fire though. 

  
Still Levi got the hint that Eren’s patience was short, the dragon usually didn’t need to exercise his grip on his temper either. 

  
Yup, one pissy dragon, order up. Still Levi was grumpy from his rude ass wake-up call and couldn’t help himself from making one last dig. 

  
“What if your breath flavors the food? I don’t want it having a hint of al ’a sulfur.” 

  
While it was a legitimate concern to a point, Levi was mostly trying to annoy Eren with his rather harsh joke. Not too much mind you, just enough to hopefully get revenge for his predicament. 

  
“Levi, I swear one more complaint and I won’t feed you at all.” 

  
Out of all the threats that Eren had thrown at him so far, they both realized that that was the one that had the most effect as Levi sucked his bottom lip in and went completely silent. While a little disconcerted by the sudden change in behavior, Eren decided not to question it. Why should he when it finally seemed to finally give him some control of the human?    
  


Grimacing in disgust, Levi picked up the still warm leg of the deer, he pressed his fingers in one tear in an attempt to remove the skin from the meat. It was useless to try to do this with his bare hands, but could Levi really trust his mouth to actually make a request nicely? Would this be considered a complaint and the meat would be taken away before he could plead his case?   
  


Thankfully, Levi didn’t have to ask as a metallic clanking sound met his ears, head turning slightly to see a long dagger now resting beside him. He glanced at Eren and at the nod of the dragon’s head he quickly grasped it. It felt good to have a weapon back in his hand, the sense of protection it provided. He didn't delude himself, he knew that the fact that Eren had given it to him meant that the predator didn’t think he could use it against him.   
  


Which was more than likely true.    
  


However, Levi was all for the sense of false comfort that the blade gave him and he quickly set to work skinning the leg. Not before, that is, rolling up the sleeve of his ridiculous top once more as Eren reminded him not to ruin his ‘gift’.    
  


Skewering a slab of venison on the blade he set it in the flames, his stomach audibly growling as the smell of cooking meat filled the cavern. Venison was a tough meat and had a more gamey taste than beef, but Levi sure as hell wasn’t going to complain as he finally pulled it out of the fire and set to gnawing on the chunk. There was probably some expensive tableware in the hoards, but he didn’t feel like being barbecued for touching any of Eren’s collection.   
  


Maybe the next time Levi was taken to bathe he could find some wild growing herbs around the pools. Not that he had ever learned to cook anything fancy living in poverty as he did not have much access to a plethora of ingredients. Herbs and spices were a commodity that could literally be worth their weight in gold.   
  


Flavor or supplies, it was an easy answer when it would decide your survival.    
  


Levi was brought out of his thoughts as Eren handed over a jug filled with cool water that Levi eagerly guzzled down between bites. No, that was not quite right, but could one really say, ‘tailed over’?    
  


Regardless, Levi was just glad to fill his belly with food and drink after so long. However, because his stomach was not used to stretching so much from his meager meals from the past he felt full all too soon. Despite this he pushed himself to eat more, not yet trusting his captor to feed him regularly.    
  


Stuffing himself just under the point of feeling sick, Levi put the knife down reluctantly. He was not at all surprised by the fact that as soon as he did, the blade as snatched away and tossed back into the pile of weapons once more.    
  


Eren seemed to have calmed while Levi ate, having settled himself onto the floor, his long body curling around the small fire and the human. His head resting just beside his pet’s left hip. It would have been easy for Levi to have attempted to strike at the dragon’s eyes or face in his position. But thankfully, Levi did no such thing, Eren wondered if this could be a sign of Levi accepting his strength over him.   
  


Eren doubted it was as simple as that.    
  


“Are you finished eating?”    
  


Levi nodded his head to the question and Eren immediately snapped up what was left of the deer leg. The bones snapped and splintered loudly as the dragon easy crunched through them like the rest of the meat. The swallow echoed, and Levi watched from the corner of his eye the lump that traveled down Eren’s throat and disappeared into his chest.    
  


Fuck, he really didn’t want that to be him someday.    
  


“Follow me.” It was a command, but Eren’s voice had become lighter with his mood being lifted by his little snack. He moved back onto his feet quickly and started his little tour of his hoard with the human walking by his side. With the dragon’s current form being the size of a horse it was easy for the two to transverse between the many piles of riches.    
  


It’s wasn’t so much a tour as it was a bragging session for Eren as he would pluck a random piece from each lump and would boost the story of where it had come from to Levi. Eren could tell that some of the stories seemed very far-fetched to the human as Levi’s brows would furrow and his lips would purse. But Levi never called him out, instead just nodding along.   
  


Levi didn’t so much care for the backstory of the pieces all he cared about was the value and if it looked pretty enough to hock. His mind mentally attached price tags to each of the treasures as they passed before his eyes.    
  


With his lack of world travel and the fact that Eren seemed to have a flair for the dramatic, Levi was taking everything that came out of that sharp toothed maw with a five-kilogram bag of salt. Still if there was very a single thread of truth in the elaborate stories that the dragon was weaving, then the world really was an incredible place.    
  


Too bad he was unlikely to see any of it, Eren seemed to want to keep Levi huddled away with the rest of his hoard. His recent near-death experience probably didn’t help Eren’s view that Levi could keep himself from dying. Even if the near drowning was the dragon’s own goddamned fault. 

  
Levi just nodded along with the other’s declarations, not quite tuning Eren out, but rather listening and attempting to keep his mouth in check whenever there was something that seemed too far from reality was spewed from a fang-lined maw. Then again, Levi’s idea of reality had been turned on its head multiple times with how the dragon behaved and changed himself. 

  
Eren on the other hand was practically glowing with pride, he knew to an observer he probably looking similar to a scale-less rooster in a hen house. Still, Eren found himself trailing off as he noticed the almost blank stare that Levi was giving the candlestick wrapped up in his tail.    
  


The silence between them was… odd. Eren had already grown accustomed the Levi’s verbal bites, so this silent and rather subdued behavior was strange to him. The silence between them stretched, but Levi didn’t even seem to notice obviously wrapped up in his own thoughts. 

  
“Blackbird.”   
  


The title made Levi jump slightly, drawing him back into reality as blinked and stared up at the dragon whose head was towering above his own.    
  


“Fu-, sorry, what were you saying?”   
  


Eren’s eyes widened, he had expected Levi to huff at him or throw an insult his way for using the pet name. Instead he got to see a hint of fear in those moonstone eyes and Levi’s shoulders hunching slightly in an attempt to subtly protect his vulnerable neck. What in the world was going on with his human? Eren wracked his brain uselessly to find out what could have triggered this change. Thinking back over what must have now been the last two hours since Levi had awoken, but he was coming up with absolutely nothing.    
  


Briefly, Eren wondered if this was some kind of rouse. Levi hoping to trick him into letting his guard down by acting broken before making a foolish break for it or an attempt on the dragon’s life. However, Eren’s kind could naturally detect deception and the underlying scent of fear that wafted from the human could not be faked.    
  


Usually the smell was appetizing to the dragon and honestly it was in Levi’s case as well, unknowingly tempting Eren further with his already _ delectable _ scent. It made Eren’s mouth water if his thoughts wandered too long back to the taste of Levi’s skin under his tongue. It had only been teasing tastes and licks, but it was simple to fall to his predatory desires.  

  
Still he managed to pull himself back, Eren had promised himself that he wasn’t going to lose this new treasure to short-lived trivial wiles like hunger. There was much more amusement to be pulled from Levi, Eren was certain of that. 

  
Levi wasn’t **_allowed_ ** to become boring so soon. 

  
“What’s wrong?” The words weren’t quite a demand, Eren had made an effort to soften his voice though his annoyance at not being able to pin down what caused the shift in Levi was grating on him. 

  
No answer immediately came from the dragon’s efforts and that was enough to make the spade at the end of his tail crack against the metal coated floor. 

  
The sound actually made Levi jump slightly and Eren watched those pale silver blue eyes as they darted from him to back to the cage. Fine dark brows pinched together and a scowl edged Levi’s lips as he was obviously debating on how and if to answer his master’s question. Then Eren focused on where exactly the human was looking, realizing then that it wasn’t just the cage that Levi’s gaze was focused on. No, there were two spots it would shift to, the cage and then to the slightly blackened spot on the floor were the ashes of the fire, which had long since petered out, that Levi had cooked his meal with.    
  


Eren wondered if his little blackbird thought that he was going to light him up at any given moment or perhaps eat him if he did not like his answer? That wasn’t quite right, Eren knew from the moment he had first meet those haunted moonstone eyes that this human was used to the idea of facing death so much so that he rarely flinched under the dragon’s threats.    
  


Then, Eren realized, that both of them knew that there were worse fates than death.    
  


With that in mind he once again took in the details of the young man before him. Almost everything was on display with so much skin showing with much of the outfit being sheer and revealing. Levi was beautiful, and all of his weight was tied up in lean muscle, too lean. Eren’s prize was skinny, he could easily count the ribs on the sides of his body that ran past the portion of his chest that was covered by the thicker fabric of the vest. Hip bones stuck out sharply and as Eren craned his neck to the side he could see the knobby bumps that were the vertebrae trailing down Levi’s back.  

  
While an adult, Levi was short for his kind and Eren suspected that some of the reason for that was that most of his life, both early and present, had been spent hungry.    
  


Hunger was something that should not be wished on even one’s worst enemies as the pain that could come from it was varied, but all forms were equally vicious. It could be a dull ache something in the back of the mind, but persistent and taxing, not letting the body completely rest or forget that one’s body was desperate for something to fill it. Or the hunger could be stabbing, like the stomach had grown teeth and was taking chunks out of the organs around it in an effort to feed itself. In both cases, the creature would feel weak and showing any sign of it was a calling card for others to capitalize on it. Predators came in all shapes and sizes, some of them motivated by carnal pleasure and others by material ones.

 

Grimacing Levi tried to force away the memories of what he had once done to stave off his hunger, he would never admit any of them willingly to Eren. Was he ashamed of them? Not really, after all, he was still alive. Would his so-called master demand something even more humiliating for food? Levi would have to bend to the dragon’s will if it meant keeping his body in a relatively good condition for his escape. If he was too weak to outrun or fight off whatever hungry monster found him before he broke the tree line it would all be for naught. 

  
A touch to his cheek jerked Levi out of his wondering, body acting on instinct as he reared his left fist towards what he assumed was the temple of his attacker while his right knee moved to deliver a strike to the gut.

  
The hits never landed though, and Levi flinched as he wondered just how fucked he had made himself as a quick glance down showed that there was a tail, now much leaner, wrapped around his thigh keeping his foot from completely leaving the ground. Then he took in a bronze skinned hand easily encompassing his own pale one.

  
Giving an experimental tug to his appendages told Levi exactly what he dreaded, Eren’s strength far outmatched his own despite his change in form. Power wasn’t everything, but Levi had lost the element of surprise and he doubted that he could do much without it, along with two of his limbs now immobilized.    
  


The shift had been completely soundless, unlike the first time Eren had transformed in front of him which had been accompanied by the sound of snapping bones and skittering of scales sliding against each other.    
  


Did Eren have the ability to choose if the change made sound or not?    
  


It was a question to ponder later, right now, Levi was more concerned about the fact that he still had a claw tipped hand on his left his cheek. Swallowing shallowly, Levi prepared himself for the pain of those claws digging into this flesh. He had just attempted to attack the dragon, though it had been a mostly unconscious effort, surely that was going to be met with punishment.    
  


The hold on his face however remained gentle, but firm enough to dissuade Levi from trying to jerk free. Levi met eyes with the dragon, now taking in their bluish green hue rather than that of topaz, but the vertical slit of a pupil remained. His pulse was thundering and even if Eren couldn’t hear it, Levi was certain that he could feel it with his pinky trailing down the side of his throat while his thumb rested on his cheekbone.

 

“I want to make something very clear, Levi.”

 

The lack of a pet name made a chill run down his spine, Levi was certain that he was about to die. But he refused to close his eyes, if death was coming he was going to face it and scowl even as Eren ripped out his throat.

 

“I will  _ never _ keep food from you. If you ask for it I will be more than happy to provide it, you certainly look like you need more meat on your bones.”

 

That… was not what Levi expected and he was certain it showed on his face, then he narrowed his eyes. This could be just a trick for all he knew.

 

“That’s not what you said earlier, you threatened to not feed me.”

 

Eren tilted his head and Levi found his gaze pulled to the horns that crowned it for a moment he almost believed that they would fall off or tilt as they would surely have done if they were fake or a prop. But no, they remained firmly rooted to the humanoid skull.

 

“I suppose I did, but you were testing my patience.” Eren’s tone was as flippant as the many earrings that dangled from his pointed ears, which made Levi raise a brow to tell him just how little stock he was putting into it.

 

Huffing at the other’s doubt, the dragon seemed to decide a different tactic, trying to play on the human’s obvious pride and hopefully fluff his feathers back to their usual state, “Hunger is a tool only used by cowards, neither you nor I are such.”

 

A snort was Levi’s answer, his shoulders dropping slightly as they started to relax with the fact that Eren didn’t seem to be planning on ending him. Still he couldn’t help but mutter to himself, “Like you know what it is like.”

 

A small pinch to his cheek made Levi hiss as Eren spoke while finally dropping his hand from his prize’s face, “While it might be too difficult for your little mind to imagine, I didn’t start out this size or strong. I wasn’t always at the top of the food chain. Young dragons have plenty of predators, why else would there be so few of us around?”

 

“I thought with all of you having just such _stellar_ personalities that you had no trouble repopulating.”

 

Internally Eren was pleased by the pecks that Levi was taking at him. On the outside he made a show of rolling his eyes and his tail swishing behind him now that he had released Levi’s thigh, though not before giving it a squeeze.

 

Levi grunted softly at the quick, but almost bruising pressure before it disappeared, Eren turned on his heel and started to walk further into his hoard. Taking a breath, he forced himself to follow, mind turning over what he had just learned about his master. Eren hinted at not only the fact that he knew what it was like to go hungry, but also that he wasn’t as invincible as he appeared. There were apparently… things, out there that could actually kill or perhaps even hunt dragons.

 

It was, ironically, food for thought.

 

Sighing, Levi tried to squish his curiosity under his heel as he walked, he didn’t need to learn about the other’s literally centuries long story.

 

Levi was going to escape, wasn’t he? The weight in his stomach felt strange… and not just because it was not used to being full, as he looked up and met that colorful gaze of a dragon in human guise.    
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait guys, I promise that I still love this story and have many plans for it in the future. I just lost motivation to write for a while and I'm trying to jump back into it. Thanks so much for all your support and love for the plots I come up with. Next on the update list is Exhibit of Love.
> 
> If you liked this chapter please comment and tell me it brightens up my day specially with the brutality of winter in northern Japan!

**Author's Note:**

> Yup.... It's another story, you guys know by now I can't help but write something down when an idea pops into my head. I really like the idea of fantasy, predator and prey relationships, and power dynamics. Yeah, Eren's going to be a bit of a jerk, but he might have bit more off than he can chew with Levi. 
> 
> If you are a dragon and something is pretty, well you just take it.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this, tell me what you think of the idea! 
> 
> I'm often bored so if ya want you can look me up on my tumblr too under the same name.


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